Help! New system doesn't get to BIOS

The power supply sucks for sure, but I don't know if that's your problem or not.

If you had both the 24-pin and the 4-pin power connected to the MB, and the CPU fan failed to spin up, that's certainly a sign that the PSU or MB are bad.

We would have nixxed the PSU and MB decisions had you brought the list to us first

I would start with the MB, and get a new PSU ASAP

You could connect a small speaker to the speaker header on the board, usually located with the other case connections. If the board was producing a beep code at start up that would help... but I suspect it is not.

It's not about wattage. It's about quality. I'm going to just quote myself here, from:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] rts-choose

Power supplies
This is the most overlooked part of a computer build and the most important.
A computer power supply does far more than you think. It has to communicate with your motherboard to coordinate power needs. It has to adjust to varying
power demands, all the while maintaining stable power in exactly the right amount. It has to do this in a range of temperaturers and over a long period
of time.

A cheap power supply can fail spectaculary taking your entire computer with it. Just don't buy ANY PSU without consulting the experts.

Other features to look for in a PSU:
-Efficiency. This one is getting to be important, especially if you have to pay your own power bills. An 80% efficient PSU that needs to supply 400W
will pull 500W at the wall. Also, the more efficient a PSU is, the cooler it runs. These PSUs generally have an "80 plus certification".
-Active PFC. An active PFC power supply is generally a good indicator of quality, although not complete. Active PFC units will have no input voltage selection switch, because they sense the input voltage and adjust automatically.
-Cable types and length.
-Heat generated. Tied directly into quality and efficiency though, so it takes care of itself.
-Noise generated.

Generally, you and I can't say what a good power supply is. We do not have the knowledge or equipment to test PSUs properly. Most of the reviews written
are done by people who do not have the knowledge or equipment to do it right. There are a very few places where you can get good reviews of computer
power supplies.

JonnyGuru
HardOCP

If you still want to learn more about PSUs, you should start here.


I will say this about power supplies. If you are like many of us and will keep the same case for a while, don't buy your PSU to last a year. Buy one
that will last 5-6 years, through about 3 builds.
--------------


You don't need anything huge for that build. Here are a few picks:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817194033
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371007

There you have it, I bow to RRs superior build experience on this one, replace the PSU first.

Yes it would. Worth checking.

yep.

I picked up the Enermax 425w power supply ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817194033 ) that proximon suggested and a Cooler Master Centurion 5 case ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068 ) instead of the Smilodon. Everything works fantastic and my OSX build is up and running. Thanks again!

Stuart

Hehe

I'm glad it worked out Stuart. Always a chance diagnosing over the internet.