RTX 5070 Ti PCIe Link Falls Back to Gen1 (2.5 GT/s) on Linux #1010
Description
NVIDIA Open GPU Kernel Modules Version
NVRM version: NVIDIA UNIX Open Kernel Module for x86_64 590.48.01 Release Build (builder@acea6c240e83) Mon Jan 19 07:16:24 UTC 2026
Please confirm this issue does not happen with the proprietary driver (of the same version). This issue tracker is only for bugs specific to the open kernel driver.
- I confirm that this does not happen with the proprietary driver package.
Operating System and Version
Bazzite
Kernel Release
Linux HQ 6.17.7-ba25.fc43.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon Jan 19 05:47:43 UTC 2026 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Please confirm you are running a stable release kernel (e.g. not a -rc). We do not accept bug reports for unreleased kernels.
- I am running on a stable kernel release.
Hardware: GPU
GPU 0: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (UUID: GPU-be5ab433-7117-d294-040c-1da33ef2991a)
Describe the bug
NVIDIA Open Kernel Module 590.48.01 causes RTX 5070 Ti (Blackwell GB203) to fall back to PCIe Gen1 (2.5 GT/s) instead of maintaining Gen4 (16 GT/s) on B760 motherboards. Windows with driver 581.80 works correctly at Gen4. This causes system instability, black screens, and crashes.
To Reproduce
Use B760M with Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF and above 5070 Ti card.
Run command sudo lspci -vv -s 01:00.0 | grep LnkSta to see :
LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s (downgraded), Width x16
LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB, EqualizationComplete+ EqualizationPhase1+
Bug Incidence
Sometimes
nvidia-bug-report.log.gz
This file is currently empty after a failed rebase to the proprietary driver and a Grub boot recovery follower by rpc-ostree rollback.
More Info
Bug Report: RTX 5070 Ti PCIe Link Falls Back to Gen1 (2.5 GT/s) on Linux
Summary
NVIDIA Open Kernel Module 590.48.01 causes RTX 5070 Ti (Blackwell GB203) to fall back to PCIe Gen1 (2.5 GT/s) instead of maintaining Gen4 (16 GT/s) on B760 motherboards. Windows with driver 581.80 works correctly at Gen4. This causes system instability, black screens, and crashes.
System Information
Component Details
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (GB203, Revision A1)
GPU Vendor Gigabyte (Subsystem ID: 4183)
Motherboard Gigabyte B760M GAMING X AX (Rev 1.x)
BIOS Version F15 (Dec 2, 2025)
CPU Intel (LGA1700, no integrated graphics)
RAM 64GB DDR5
OS Bazzite Linux (Fedora 43 based, rpm-ostree)
Kernel 6.17.7-ba25.fc43.x86_64
NVIDIA Driver 590.48.01 Open Kernel Module
Display Server Wayland (KDE Plasma)
Problem Description
The GPU's PCIe link trains correctly at 16 GT/s (Gen4) during early boot, but degrades to 2.5 GT/s (Gen1) after the NVIDIA driver loads. This causes:
Random black screens requiring hard reboot
System hangs during idle/light tasks
Pageflip timeouts in kwin_wayland
AER (Advanced Error Reporting) errors
Evidence of Driver-Caused Regression
Early boot shows correct link speed:

dmesg:
pci 0000:01:00.0: 252.048 Gb/s available PCIe bandwidth, limited by 16.0 GT/s PCIe x16 link at 0000:00:01.0
After driver loads, link is degraded:

$ sudo lspci -vv -s 01:00.0 | grep LnkSta
LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s (downgraded), Width x16
Windows works correctly with same hardware:
BIOS PCIe Setting Windows 11 (Driver 581.80) Linux (Driver 590.48.01)
Gen4 16 GT/s ✅ 2.5 GT/s ❌
Gen3 8 GT/s ✅ 2.5 GT/s ❌
Technical Analysis
From lspci -vv output:

LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 32GT/s, Width x16, ASPM L1
LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s (downgraded), Width x16
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 32GT/s
Phy16Sta: EquComplete+ EquPhase1+ EquPhase2+ EquPhase3+ <- Gen4 equalization SUCCEEDED
Phy32Sta: EquComplete- EquPhase1- EquPhase2- EquPhase3- <- Gen5 equalization FAILED
Key finding: Gen4 link training completes successfully, but the driver targets Gen5, which fails. Instead of falling back to the working Gen4, it falls all the way to Gen1.
Journal Errors (from crash)

nvidia 0000:01:00.0: AER: Error of this Agent is reported first
[drm:__nv_drm_semsurf_wait_fence_work_cb [nvidia_drm]] ERROR Failed to register auto-value-update
kwin_wayland: Pageflip timed out! This is a bug in the nvidia-drm kernel driver
[drm:nv_drm_atomic_commit [nvidia_drm]] ERROR Flip event timeout on head 0
[drm:nv_drm_dumb_create [nvidia_drm]] ERROR Failed to allocate NvKmsKapiMemory
nvidia-modeset: ERROR: GPU:0: Failed to query display engine channel state: 0x0000ca7e:6:0:0x0000000f
Workarounds Attempted (All Failed)
Attempt Result
BIOS update F11 → F15 No improvement
BIOS: CPU PCIe Link Speed = Gen4 Still 2.5 GT/s
BIOS: CPU PCIe Link Speed = Gen3 Still 2.5 GT/s
Kernel param: pcie_aspm=off Still 2.5 GT/s
Kernel param: pcie_port_pm=off Still 2.5 GT/s
Kernel param: nvidia.NVreg_EnablePCIeGen3=1 Still 2.5 GT/s
Kernel param: nvidia.NVreg_EnableGpuFirmware=0 Still 2.5 GT/s
Enable nvidia-persistenced Still 2.5 GT/s
setpci -s 01:00.0 CAP_EXP+30.W=0003 Still 2.5 GT/s
Expected Behavior
The driver should:
Respect BIOS PCIe speed settings
Fall back to Gen4 (which trains successfully) when Gen5 fails
Not fall back to Gen1 when higher speeds are achievable
Additional Notes
Issue appears to be specific to 590.x open driver versions
Reports indicate 580.95.05-1 does not have this issue
Closed/proprietary driver reportedly works (could not test due to boot issues during rebase)
B760 chipset may be specifically affected
Full lspci Output

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GB203 [GeForce RTX 5070 Ti] (rev a1)
Subsystem: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd Device 4183
LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 32GT/s, Width x16, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L1 unlimited
LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s (downgraded), Width x16
LnkCap2: Supported Link Speeds: 2.5-32GT/s, Crosslink- Retimer+ 2Retimers+ DRS-
LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 32GT/s
Kernel driver in use: nvidia
Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidia_drm, nvidia
Requested Action
Please investigate the PCIe link speed negotiation logic in the open kernel module for Blackwell GPUs, specifically:
Why the driver targets Gen5 even when BIOS is set to Gen3/Gen4
Why fallback goes to Gen1 instead of the highest working speed
Compatibility with B760 chipset PCIe root complex