*** EDIT: solved thanks to theshadow2001 pointing out my stupid noob mistake *** Hey guys. I could really use some advice. I've just built my new rig and... it doesn't work. I'll list out the hardware below and what I did, and would really welcome your thoughts on what I might try before RMAing the whole thing: Asus Z170I Pro Gaming Motherboard (Socket 1151, Intel Z170, DDR4, S-ATA 600, Mini ITX, SupremeFX, Sonic Radar ll) Intel Core Skylake Processor i5-6500/3.2 GHz (Turbo Boost 3.6 GHz - 4 Core 6Mo Cache Socket 1151 (BX80662I56500) HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) 2133 MHz DDR4 CL14 UDIMM Memory Kit (Skylake Compatible) - Black Corsair CW-9060015-WW Hydro Series H75 120 mm High Performance All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler Samsung MZ-V5P256BW 950 Pro Solid State Drive (256 GB V-NAND UBX Controller) Thermaltake Smart SE 530W 80+ Bronze Efficiency Modular PSU 14cm Fan AFPC ATX2.3 Build process, in brief, was as follows: Install cooler back plate on mobo Install standoffs on cooler backplate Install M.2 drive on rear of mobo Install RAM Install CPU Install mobo into case Install radiator in front of case install heatsink/pump unit onto CPU and tighten thumbscrews Connect front panel headers (USB, power, reset, LEDs, audio), fan and pump to mobo Install PSU and connect to mobo with 20+4 connector I connected the box to my TV (as it was handy) with an HDMI cable. No USB devices were connected, I just wanted to see the thing POST before calling it a night and doing the software install tomorrow. Connecting the PSU to mains and hitting the power button gave me good first indications - case power LED and mobo accent lights came on, PSU fan spun up, fans on the rad spun up. I assume the pump also spun up. So far so good, but nothing on the screen. Now, as I live overseas and had all this stuff shipped from Amazon, I **REALLY** don't want to disassemble, rebox and RMA the whole lot (shipping will be extortionate). If there's a single component that is DOA, I'd prefer to rebox just that and ship it back. Or if I'm really lucky, maybe I missed something in my build that one of you lovely people might spot. Back in the day, when I had a bunch of other hardware knocking around, diagnosing this would have been relatively easy as I could have swapped out components until I found the culprit, but it's been a while since I built a box and I don't have any alternative sticks of DDR4, 1151 CPUs or motherboards. Here's what I'm thinking to try, with a few questions: (1) I'll try the DisplayPort output to my monitor, rather than HDMI to my TV (2) I have a GPU that I can install to try, in case the onboard video is the issue (3) Should the board give me some sort of video output even if the CPU is dead? (4) Any diagnostic codes or anything I can force the board to produce (I know some boards used to have LED flashing fault codes) (5) Should the board give me some sort of output even if the RAM is faulty? How about if I remove the RAM? Or will it work with a single stick of DDR4 (i.e. if one module is faulty)? (6) I'm guessing a faulty M.2 drive wouldn't cause the board not to POST, right? My instinct is I have a faulty motherboard. Any other advice as to things I might try, obvious stupid mistakes I might have made in the assembly (quick fixes!), or ways to narrow down the potential faults given my lack of alternative hardware to substitute in? Thanks so much in advance - very frustrating to spend a couple of hours assembling everything and end up with a brick! Cheers JMac
You never said you connected 8 pin mobo power. Re check all power connections. Disconnect anything thats not necessary including case fans. Ceck each stick of RAM in each slot on its own. Try the other video outputs and then the graphics card. Read the manual and see if there's a header for a speaker. If so buy a piezo speaker on ebay and see if you can get some beep codes going. ( Are beep codes still a thing these days?)
Thanks theshadow2001. I think perhaps you've nailed it with the 8-pin mobo power - I *thought* I had connected it, but it was late and I was working in the tight confines of an SFF case, and now you mention it I can't actually remember plugging that in. Will check and let you know. Funnily enough (and this will testify to just how long it is since I built a rig) the last motherboard I installed only had the 20-pin (not even 24-pin, and definitely no 8-pin aux) connection to the PSU. It also had DDR2, the CPU had pins not pads, and the cooler mounted to tabs on the ZIF socket. I feel old.
Yep, it was the 8-pin connector. Thanks for pointing out (what should have been ) the obvious! All sorted now. Cheers for the help!
Good stuff. At least it was something simple. (you can edit the thread title of your own threads if you wish to mark it solved but usually people don't bother.)
