PCI-Express x16 4.0 Running at x4 4.0 / Z790 Hero Motherboard

[Inanna17]

I have an Asus rog maximus Z790 hero board. EVGA RTX 3080ti graphics card. I7-13700k CPU

Running GPU-Z I see when I hover over Bus interface it says, "The graphics card reports that it supports: PCI- Express x16 4.0. Is currently running at: PCI-Express x4 4.0." 

I ran a CPU test using "Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool" and it passed. 

GPU is seated in top pci slot. M2 Expansion card isn't used.

2 NVME SSD drives and a regular SSD installed. All the drives work fine.

I actually just stumbled onto this. Moving my mouse around the gpu-z screen I stopped at the bus location and read what it said. I'm not experiencing any noticeable issues but question if I'm not getting what I paid out of my graphics card. If someone can help me figure this out, I will appreciate it.

If I left anything out that I should have included, just ask and I will respond as soon as possible.

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @Inanna17 
Have you tried running the built-in render benchmark? 

[Inanna17]

Yes, I used the render test. Here is an image of what it shows.

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @Inanna17 

Not to mention the obvious, but did you check for change when the render test is running? 

If using a GPU riser cable, remove this and connect directly to the slot.

If no joy;

1. Update to 2801 if not having done so already.

2. Clear CMOS.

3. Remove the CPU cooler and CPU. Inspect the CPU pin pad and socket for any debris or damage.

4. If using a contact frame, remove and reinstall the stock retention mechanism.

5. Reseat the CPU and cooler, and ensure consistent mounting pressure.

[Inanna17]

What I've done so far is pulled the gpu and cleaned the connection using rubbing alcohol. Remounted the cpu, all the pins look good. I moved one nvme from the 2_1 slot to the 2_3. Bios is 2801. CMOS was cleared, twice. 

GPU-Z still reporting x4 4.0. While running Heaven benchmark, gpu load stayed around 39-41% nearly the entire test. Also, the Bus interface message changed to x4 2.0. As I'm typing this, the message is x4 1.1

Is there anything else I can try?

[Silent_Scone]

Thanks for the update. I'd try connecting it to the second full-length slot if possible and see if the behaviour is the same. I've moved the thread to ROG Care for attention of service.  

[Inanna17]

I moved the graphics card down one, gpu-z still showing running at x4 4.0

Edit to previous statement: GPU load does reach 100%. Having the gpu-z window selected, the utilization was as stated above. Having the benchmark test selected utilizes the full card.

[Inanna17]

Since lower slot didn't change my readings, I put the graphics card back up top. Noticed only two power cables were occupying the three slots in card, so ran a third cable from psu to the card thinking too low a power may be the problem. It wasn't. Still showing x4 in both gpu-z and hwinfo.

[Silent_Scone]

Check VBIOS version, if not - i'm suspecting the GPU. When did the behaviour start, was anything changed?

[Inanna17]

This is the vbios version I found in system information in the nvidia control panel.