What is PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE?
This medium-severity issue affects the graphics card (GPU). The graphics card runs on a lower generation or PCIe bus width (eg Gen3 x4 instead of Gen4 x16), which reduces performance. This usually traces back to misplaced GPU in slot, m.2 NVMe drives sharing lines and bad settings in BIOS. See the troubleshooting steps below for the fix.
Common Causes
- Misplaced GPU in slot
- Dusty PCIe contacts
- M.2 NVMe drives sharing lines
- Bad settings in BIOS
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
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1
Reposition the GPU and blow through the
As a first move, Reposition the GPU and blow through the handles the most common scenario behind PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE.
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2
slot Clean the gold pins of the GPU with isopropyl alcohol
In case symptoms recur, the rest of the sequence deals with the less common side of gpu instability.
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3
Move the NVMe drive to another slot not connected to PCIe_1
If earlier steps didn't help, "Move the NVMe drive to another slot not connected to PCIe_1" directly addresses misplaced GPU in slot.
Commands & Diagnostics
dxdiag
Frequently Asked Questions
PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE is most often triggered by misplaced GPU in slot. Other reports point to dusty PCIe contacts, m.2 NVMe drives sharing lines and bad settings in BIOS as contributing factors.
"Reposition the GPU and blow through the" clears up most PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE reports by itself. The remaining steps above cover what's left.
As a medium-severity issue, PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE is more of a stability annoyance than a hardware risk — the steps above should clear it up.
Usually. PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE is fixable with the steps above; a full Windows reinstall is rarely necessary unless everything else has failed.
Yes — GPU or memory overclocking is one of the most frequent triggers for PCI-E-BANDWIDTH-ISSUE. Try resetting your GPU to stock clocks using MSI Afterburner or your OC software, then test for stability before investigating other causes.
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