ASRock 990FX Extreme3 Powers On but No POST

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gecko625

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Jul 17, 2013
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A bit of a long story, but . . . I was running 3 systems with FX-8120 chips using Gigabyte GA 78LMT-S2P boards (which Gigabyte claimed to be compatible, but turns out not with the 125W FX chips). So all 3 boards died after ~4 months. I RMA'd them, put my chips back in when the boards were replaced, and couldn't get the systems to POST. Gigabyte finally admitted that the boards aren't compatible with the chip, and claims they are getting me a refund.

In the meantime, I bought 3 Asrock 990FX Extreme3 boards and dropped my FX-8120's in. Motherboards powered on (and stayed on), but no post beeps, no video, nothing. I assumed when the Gigabyte boards died they fried the CPUs, so I RMA'd the CPUs. Just got brand new FX-8120 chips from AMD, installed them in my new Asrock motherboards . . . and still no POST.

I have tried 4 different PSUs, 12 different sticks of RAM (individually), 3 video cards (no onboard video on this MB), and 3 different CPUs in 3 different motherboards. No POST beep, no video, nothing other than the fans. I went through the troubleshooting guide on here (tried breadboarding with only the CPU and HSF, clearing CMOS, etc) which suggests I have a dead motherboard . . . but really, 3 DOA motherboards??

Some googling reveals a number of hits for similar problems with this particular board, most of which were returned DOA or ended up being a PSU issue. Doesn't make me feel real good about the boards, but I still can't believe I got three dead ones. Really feels like I'm missing something here . . . any ideas?

MB: ASRock 990FX Extreme3
CPU: AMD FX-8120 (125W, Black Edition)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB, 1600MHz) or Generic (2x4GB, 1333MHz)
GPU: HIS Radeon HD6450 1GB (don't laugh, they're slave systems so I just need video for troubleshooting)
PSU: Coolermaster 600W
 
Solution
Suferbus
1st off, when these mobo companies put adds out saying a mobo supports the new FX 8 Core processors, it does not mean all of them. Always check the cpu support list to see which cpu's are exactly supported, and which version of bios the mobo needs to run the cpu. Sometimes you need an older cpu to boot up the mobo, then flash the bios to a newer version that supports the cpu you have, then install your new cpu..Sorry you had to find that out the hard way...Also as you have found out, the mobo might not even support the cpu at all. Gigabyte is bad about putting "Supports new FX series 8core cpu's" on the mobo box, but when you look in the support list, it is only obscure 8 core cpus like 8100, 8120 etc. Not the more viable...
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Suferbus

Suferbus

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Jul 1, 2013
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1st off, when these mobo companies put adds out saying a mobo supports the new FX 8 Core processors, it does not mean all of them. Always check the cpu support list to see which cpu's are exactly supported, and which version of bios the mobo needs to run the cpu. Sometimes you need an older cpu to boot up the mobo, then flash the bios to a newer version that supports the cpu you have, then install your new cpu..Sorry you had to find that out the hard way...Also as you have found out, the mobo might not even support the cpu at all. Gigabyte is bad about putting "Supports new FX series 8core cpu's" on the mobo box, but when you look in the support list, it is only obscure 8 core cpus like 8100, 8120 etc. Not the more viable 8150--8350...Now to your ASRock motherboard. I hate to say it, but it really sounds like the MOBO. ASROCK is my favorite mobo manufacture and I only use ASROCK mobo's and I have never ran into that situation, but every manufacture has doa's out there, maybe you have bad luck. I checked, and the 8120 is supported by all bios versions on that motherboard, so that can't be it. There are some fx series cpu's that need bios update on the mobo, but not the 8120. Did you buy that mobo brand new and your sure it is the 990 series chipset? If it is the 970 series chipset, you will need a bios update. Let me know--Suferbus
 
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Solution
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gecko625

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Jul 17, 2013
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Thanks Suferbus.

On the Gigabyte boards, their website (still) lists the 8120 as supported. Their support list does not mention that they only support the 95W version of the chip. In fact, they even recommended that retailers pair these boards and chips together before removing it from the list a few months later (according to a district manager at my local store when I started having problems). And the retail boards worked fine until they burnt up after 4 months of use, they were shipped with a bios that supported the chip. When I pointed that out to Gigabyte they agreed to give me a refund (albeit after months of arguing with them). So lesson learned, I won't be buying any Gigabyte products again.

But anyway, on the ASRock boards I tripple-checked the support list as well as the bios version required thanks to my experience with Gigabyte. I definitely have brand new 990FXs, which list the 8120 as supported by all bios versions. It does not explicitly list my memory as supported, but I should still get POST beeps with no memory installed right?

An occasional DOA product is understandable, I just am still in disbelief that I seem to have 3 of them. Plus the 3 useless Gigabyte boards I have.
 
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Suferbus

Suferbus

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Jul 1, 2013
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Not necessarily on the ram/post beeps. Ram can cause very funny behavior, including no post at all. Do you have a single stick of ram from a working desktop to try out? Although I do believe this is totally weird. I have not had issues with ASROCK mobos like this that was not a ram issue, but it really does not sound like a ram issue if you have tried so many ram configurations already, but it still could be..
 
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gecko625

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Jul 17, 2013
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Hmm. Well yes I do know that at least a pair of these ram sticks still works, as I used it to boot the Gigabyte boards they returned with an old Phenom II so I could flash the bios (they returned them from RMA with an older bios than the one installed on the retail boards, grrr). And the 2x4GB ram I removed from these systems before the boards failed in order to upgrade it, so I know those sticks are good too.

So that still leaves the possibility that the ram is not compatible. Though I'm not sure how much that helps me since I have 12 sticks of this stuff sitting around that I'd like to use. Plus I've tried 2 different varieties / brands of ram with two different memory speeds, so I'd be a little surprised if neither was compatible.

Ugh, really don't want to return 3 more motherboards :(
 
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Suferbus

Suferbus

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Jul 1, 2013
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Did you try to use just 1 stick of ram in the 1st slot of 1st channel?
 
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gecko625

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Jul 17, 2013
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I did, yes. I ended up returning the boards and sticking with the same model replacements . . . and sure enough they all work fine. So apparently I really did pick up 3 dead boards the first time.

Incidentally though, one of the CPUs AMD sent me when I RMA'd my chips is DOA. Talk about bad luck. I bet at least one of the chips I returned was still good too (seeing as the boards I was trying them in were dead).
 
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Suferbus

Suferbus

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Jul 1, 2013
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Glad to see you are up and rolling. Ya that is some bad luck. Maybe you should go play the lottery, you have had so much bad luck lately you should have some good luck coming your way!!! ~~ Suferbus
 
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FeO2Y_H2O

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Nov 3, 2015
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Sorry for necroing the thread but I think I may be onto something. I've noticed a lot of these old Extreme3 boards eventually have issues posting. I've had my Asrock 880G Extreme3 for years and it has always randomly had issues posting and keeping it's saved bios settings. If anyone runs into this issue, there are two possible solutions for when the board powers up but won't post (At least for my board).

Solution 1
1. Power down the system.
2. Unplug the power cord from your power supply.
3. Unplug the 24pin power connector from the board. (This is key)
4. Press and hold the power switch to discharge the board for a few seconds.
5. Reconnect the 24pin connector and the power cord for the power supply.
6. The computer may resume normal function when the power button is pressed.

Solution 2 (Risky but it does work) I had to start doing this after method 1 stopped working.
1. Turn off power to the power supply by unplugging the power cord or via a switch on your power supply.
2. Pull the 24pin power connector halfway out of the socket so that it stays in the socket but does not make contact with contact pads in the socket.
(All the other power connectors such as sata and pci don't need to be disconnected)
3. Re-establish power to the power supply.
4. In one smooth fast motion, push the 24pin power connector into it's socket.
5. The machine should power on and post without even pressing the power button.

So this leads me to believe that there is possibly a problem with the boards power circuit or a possible grounding issue.

The grounding theory makes more sense since the bios has issues keeping it's saved configuration. The plate on the back of the board for the cpu socket does seems to be fairly large. Maybe that is the issue. I would assume that if I pull the board out of the case and there were less or even no dust where the plate was as compared to the rest of the area occupied by the board, I could move in that direction and sand down the plate by a fraction of a mm.

If it were a power switch issue I should check all the power related. Those would include the front panel power and reset switches, the onboard Power and Reset buttons, the rear panel Clear CMOS button, the Clear CMOS header, and all the usb power headers.

If you can't tell, I'm bored and new.

I'm going to go over all of these possible issues after I get home from work.
 
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