Troubleshooting help requested - new GA-MA78GM-S2H (rev 1.1)

I just purchased a few brand new parts:

- Gigabyte GA-MA79GM-S2H (rev 1.1)
- AMD Athlon 4850e
- Antec 430W Power supply
- 2Gx2 OCZ DDR2 1066 RAM

I installed the CPU & RAM on the motherboard and powered it on. The only reaction I get is the CPU Fan turns on. I installed a PC Speaker and tried again same results. I then tried taking out the RAM and still no beeps or post. I tried clearing CMOS and still the same results.

The only other thing I found odd was I could not turn the power off using the power switch connected to the motherboard, I had to use the switch on the power supply.

I have seen some other postings about similar problems with this motherboard so I RMAed it. I have received a replacement motherboard and the replacement acts the same way.

Before I give up on Gigabyte completely and RMA it for an Asus board can anyone suggest additional troubleshooting steps I can take? Possibly is there any way I can be sure it is the motherboard and not the CPU.

Thanks in advance

Agree, it is most likely your memory.
Try with only 1 stick of memory. If it does boot, go into the BIOS immediatley and set your memory to the correct voltage and timings.
The board probably will not auto-detect over 800mhz memory, (very few if any, will) as technically anything over 800mhz is overclocked memory.

We could assume that the motherboard is good. That leaves the PSU and the CPU. You wrote "I could not turn the power off using the power switch connected to the motherboard". Have you tried holding down the switch for several seconds to see if it then powers off?