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    PCI-Express @ x1 most of the time?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Tantawi, Aug 22, 2008.

  1. Tantawi

    Tantawi Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi,

    I'm new here but I really like this forum and I've been reading it for a while before I purchased my first laptop, HP Pavilion dv5-1040ee

    As you can see from the attached CPU-Z screenshot, the PCI-Express bus is running at x1! no matter if connected to power source or on battery, this cause very bad performance in Aero and other 3D applications, also low Vista rating (3.3 for Aero).

    Occasionally I may open CPU-Z and find it @ x16, but if I close it and reopen it's @ x1 again, very strange!

    I have the latest BIOS from HP, Vista Business SP1 x64, with all patches from Windows Update, I also use the very latest chipset/VGA/etc drivers from Intel, NVIDIA, etc. Also I have the PCI-Express power saving option to OFF to all my power profiles from Windows power options.

    Any ideas? does anyone having a dv5 facing the same problem?

    Thanks.
     

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  2. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    This has happened a few times before, where the PCI-e would get stuck to 1x for no reason.

    There was no fix AFAIK. Most people sent their warranty in before they could fix it.

    I suggest you do a recovery install first
     
  3. Tantawi

    Tantawi Notebook Enthusiast

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    That sucks! I won't be able to send it until 40+ days at least! but Thanks anyway. Have you got any links to discussions on this issue because I searched but can't find any.

    Any other suggestion?
     
  4. Tantawi

    Tantawi Notebook Enthusiast

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  5. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    powermizer fixed it o_O

    I didnt know that it could also downclock your PCI-e bus. If you disable powermizer your gpu cant downclock, you will loose battery life.

    Mines always running at 16x
     
  6. Tantawi

    Tantawi Notebook Enthusiast

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    Using the instructions in the mentioned thread, I was able to disable it only when using AC power source, but if on battery it kicks in and downclock the GPU and PCI-Express bus bandwidth :)