We’ve seen reports of severe performance issues where systems are performing significantly below what we’d expect based on our testing and performance targets*. In several cases, our support team found the cause to be the graphics card running at an incorrect PCIe configuration.
If you are experiencing performance issues, we recommend checking your GPU configuration with a tool such as GPU-Z, by looking at "Bus Information". This will show for example: "PCIe x16 4.0 @ x16 4.0". The first value shows the maximum ammount of PCIe lanes your GPU can use. If the second value after the @ is lower, your GPU is using less PCIe lanes than what it is designed for.
Press the "?" button next to "Bus Information" in GPU-Z to start a render test. This will show the configuration your GPU is using while running a game. If you see values such as x1, x2 or x4, your GPU bandwith is being limited, which can have a major impact on performance.
This can occur if the graphics card is installed in the wrong slot, if the speed is configured incorrectly in the BIOS/UEFI, or if other hardware such as M.2 SSDs are sharing lanes with the GPU slot.
To troubleshoot, we recommend consulting your motherboard/system manual, your PC builder/store, hardware manufacturer, or relevant community resources such as forums.
If you still are experiencing performance issues after checking the above, please create a ticket so we can investigate.
* For recommendations on system specifications and average performance targets for various hardware and presets, please refer to this infographic (click to enlarge in new tab):