Breadboarding =(

One long and two short beeps usually indicate a graphics problem. Seems to be verified by the static bars on your screen. Try a graphics card if you can and see what occurs. Go ahead and leave the RAM in place for the first go and work your way through the other areas.

And keep us posted. I always want to hear about any motherboard failures or issues.

I agree with Proximon. It's always nice to hear what went on so we can keep it in mind for similar problems in the future.

I didn't buy a graphics card because I thought I can rely on integrated graphics....
Can anyone suggest a good deal on a gpu?

This card would do the job if you aren't looking to do any gaming.

ASUS EAH4350 SILENT/DI/512MD2(LP) Radeon HD 4350 512MB $32.99 - $10 MIR

What do you use the PC for? That'll help narrow down the suitable graphics cards.

mostly light gaming and web surfing. 3d gaming on med resolution (1440x900 at most) I'm looking more for affordability, because I was planning on getting the gpu much later.

Verify any and all BIOS settings related to the integrated gpu and make sure all the proper power connections are made...

How do I do that if it doesn't boot up?

I'm with Proximon, especially since it may have been my breadboarding thread you looked at.

I had tried several different brands of motherboards, all with discrete graphics, and they all did the same thing - a series of long beeps when no memory is installed. I have never tried the troubleshooting techniques on a board with integrated graphics. So I also am very curious to hear what is going on.

My work PC (also self built) does have integrated graphics. I will test tomorrow to see what happens.

In the meantime, if you clear the CMOS (motherboard manual will have directions), the default state for the motherboard will be integrated graphics.

Indeed, you may have graphics problems. The problem is that because the system will not POST, you cannot get into the BIOS to enable the discrete graphics card.

Some motherboards with integrated graphics will detect the presence of a video card and automagically enable it, so there is some hope if that's your problem.

Although this is not your problem, I'd like to point out that the "dead video card" BIOS beeps will indicate a problem with the video interface. It does not check for the full functioning of the chip or card. That's what the Mark I Eyeball does. Case in point: our 7 year old household computer (P4 Celeron, Asus motherboard with integrated graphics) died recently - no graphical display. It still successfully POSTed (single short beep).

decipherfreak,
If I lose track of this thread, please private message me with the final solution so I can incorporate what we learned in my Breadboarding thread.
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Building computers since 1976.

So I got a friend to take a look at it. He put in a graphics card of his own, and it worked! So there's something wrong with the onboard graphics. I hope I can borrow a gpu and look through the BIOS settings and maybe make the graphics work. Or I'll have to go buy a card.

Is this a good one? (see previous posts for graphics needs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

thanks for the help guys!

Just got back to the house from work today.

The computer that I built for work uses my old E6600. It's an ECS motherboard (freebie from Fry's) with an integrated video chipset from nVidia. Did some testing. It makes long beeps without the memory. I left it with the integrated video enabled, then plugged in my old 8800GTS. I guess both of our boards will automatically detect a video card.

decipher, you can try to look through the BIOS settings to see what video settings the board uses, but I suspect that you will find that the integrated graphics are enabled by default. In that case, you need to decide if you are going to RMA your board.

The video card that you linked to is an older AGP card. Your motherboard uses something called PCI Express. Check this site's graphics articles for the best video cards in each price range:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,...

These?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N...

The first one would be fine, although I think you might like a 4670 more.

I want to get something local. How is this?
http://www.frys.com/product/5958414?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN...

No, that's actually a slower GPU than your onboard.

I don't know much about graphic cards. Which spec tells you which is faster?

Just look at this hierarchy chart:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,...

I would get this GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It has DDR2 memory, though.