Newly built PC starts up, nothing displayed on monitor.

dag0528 · Dec 26, 2014

Just built a new pc, here are the specs:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Rym2ZL

Turned the PC on, all the fans came on and everything. Put windows in and turn monitor on, and nothing displays. This is an extreme annoyance and if anyone can get back to me, that would be great.

MasterDell · Dec 26, 2014

dag0528 :

This could be from several things. Check and double check and triple check that your CPU power connector is in all the way in. Same goes for the 24 pin motherboard power. Another reason could be because your computer may nee a BIOS update.

Darkbreeze · Dec 26, 2014

dag0528 :

No foolin'? Yeah, I'd be annoyed too if my new build didn't display anything. Gonna need more information though to have any idea what the heck is going on.

What is the model of your monitor? How are you connected to it? Are you using any adapters? Are you sure you plugged the monitor cable into the GPU outputs and not the motherboard outputs?

dag0528 · Dec 26, 2014

MasterDell :

Right, so I did that. I am relatively new to building PCs, so I don't know how to update my BIOS. Any links that may help?

dag0528 · Dec 26, 2014

Darkbreeze :

My monitor is connected to my GPU through VGA. And yes i am sure.

Darkbreeze · Dec 26, 2014

Well, like Masterdell said, it might need a BIOS update. That's a pretty old chipset motherboard and the FX-6300 isn't supported on it until BIOS version P1.60, so if you happened to get an early version of the board that's been sitting around in a warehouse or on the shelf for some time it's possible it might not have a current firmware version on it. Most of them would have had a recent firmware version that supports FX chips though.

Here is the BIOS update page for that board and there are instruction links for each method of updating listed with the red crosses.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20Extreme3/?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=970 Extreme3

You don't need to update each version, just version 1.8, however, there may still be a problem as that board doesn't seem to support updating without a working CPU installed. I'm going to try and verify this one way or the other for you.

dag0528 · Dec 26, 2014

Darkbreeze :

Thank you so much guys, will do this and hope that I don't have to make the 1 hour trip to Micro Center tommorow. Thanks again.

Darkbreeze · Dec 26, 2014

Yeah, that doesn't have any kind of flashback or non-cpu method for updating the BIOS. So unless you have an older AM2 or AM3 socket CPU or can borrow one, it's likely that you'll need to return that board and get one with out of the box support for your CPU. This should have been one of things that was verified prior to ordering the hardware, but it happens.

Check the box and packaging to see if there is any kind of indication of what BIOS version it came with. Also, re-read my last post, as I edited it and added this:

You don't need to update each version, just version 1.8, however, there may still be a problem as that board doesn't seem to support updating without a working CPU installed. I'm going to try and verify this one way or the other for you.

And it seems that board does not have any method for updating without a supported CPU installed, therefore, it cannot be updated to a version that supports your CPU without another CPU that does work in it.

Darkbreeze · Dec 26, 2014

Unfortunately, you will probably need to make that trip, and this time make sure to let them know that you were not informed by the sales person that the hardware was incompatible, if you were helped to pick out the components by one of their employees.

dag0528 · Dec 26, 2014

Darkbreeze :

Yeah, that doesn't have any kind of flashback or non-cpu method for updating the BIOS. So unless you have an older AM2 or AM3 socket CPU or can borrow one, it's likely that you'll need to return that board and get one with out of the box support for your CPU. This should have been one of things that was verified prior to ordering the hardware, but it happens.

Check the box and packaging to see if there is any kind of indication of what BIOS version it came with. Also, re-read my last post, as I edited it and added this:

You don't need to update each version, just version 1.8, however, there may still be a problem as that board doesn't seem to support updating without a working CPU installed. I'm going to try and verify this one way or the other for you.

And it seems that board does not have any method for updating without a supported CPU installed, therefore, it cannot be updated to a version that supports your CPU without another CPU that does work in it.

So basically that means I'm pretty much stuck until I can get another part that works?

Darkbreeze · Dec 26, 2014

Unfortunately, yes. Unless you have or can borrow an older supported CPU that works in that board. I'm not 100% positive your board doesn't have the necessary BIOS to support that CPU, but since it's a distinct possibility, and is a common issue, it's very likely. So it's find a CPU that we know would have worked even from the original BIOS version on, or another motherboard.

I'm not sure what they carry at your micro-center, but the best motherboard available under 100 bucks for any FX CPU from the 8370 down is the Gigabyte 970A-UD3P which runs about 75 bucks and supports all the non-9xxx FX chips since the original BIOS version so no update would be needed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $75.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-26 22:31 EST-0500

This is also a good option that has more features and better hardware support than the 970 chipset:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Killer ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $110.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-26 22:36 EST-0500

Either of those would be fine. There are, obviously, many other choices but depending on whether you plan to overclock or are willing to spend more money, those are the two budget choices I'd pick from. If you're willing to spend a bit more, there are much better boards. I probably wouldn't recommend anything lower than that though.

Here is the motherboard tier list for reference. 970 chipsets are older, 990 chipsets are newer and 990FX chipsets are the newest. Not all boards are good for overclocking, regardless which chipset they fall under.

970 boards: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2384024/motherboard-tier-list-970-chipset.html

990X boards: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2384013/motherboard-tier-list-990x-chipset.html

990FX boards: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2384008/motherboard-tier-list-990fx-chipset.html

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