Am I the world's most unlucky guy?

[channeledbymodem]

Or does MB quality control just suck.

So the job I thought I had went south and I couldn't afford the Sandy Bridge system I thought I'd get someone else to build for me. Sigh.

But then I gathered myself up and realized that I didn't need new HDs or a new case (Antec Sonata I). I could build myself a nice AMD Phenom II BE pc with a new MB, memory and PSU. All I do is multi-task like a demon (downloading, decoding, encoding, playing back HD video, surfing - never a game) so the SB platform was probably overkill (coming from P4 2.8 Northwood, 7600GS, Asus p4p800e).

So I decided to build with:

Phenom II 555
Corsair cx430 v2
Crucial 2x2 1333
AMD IGP, either 880g or 890gx

That's when the heartaches begin (holding Newegg totally non-accountable in this nightmare) (all results from breadboarding):

1) Not being hip to black sockets at the time, I order ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3. First board screams about not finding any memory whether there is memory installed or not. CPU fan spins, no video, no post.

2) Replace Asus board, keep PSU and CPU. CPU fan spins and nothing . . . No beeps, no video.

3) RMA Asus board and order ASRock 890GX PRO3. I'm cool with this. A little less $, a slightly better NB, some sexy features, great reviews on Newegg. Breadboard it and again no video, beeps, CPU fan spins, etc.

4) RMA PSU and CPU, keep Asrock MB. Install new parts. No video, beeps, display on Dr. Debug LED.

So to sum up, I cannot post with 3 different MBs, 2 different pairs of RAM, 2 PSUs, 2 CPUs.

24 pin and 8 pin connector have been repeatedly reseated. Display works with the Google Chrome CR-48 I'm writing this on. CMOS has been reset multiple times with each configuration. CPU fan always spins. Never a sound out of correctly wired chassis speaker except for first hysterical alarm about no memory (back 3 MBs ago). MBs never installed in case, so shorts unlikely.

WTF is going on here. I have not gone without a *real* pc for 20 years. Do I have to have AVAdirect build something for me?

 

[fullofzen]

Have you been using the same memory the entire time? I would suggest it's possible that when the first board failed and put out a hysterical alarm about no memory it took the memory with it. I would suggest trying the memory in a known-good motherboard and evaluating whether that can be the culprit.

I have had bad memory take out a mb and a bad mb take out memory.

 

[channeledbymodem]

FWIW, it turned out that my second Corsair cx430 v2 psu was the problem. I went out and bought yet another MB (my 4th on this build) and when I connected the Corsair psu to the MB on a breadboard, the cpu fans wouldn't even turn. Out of desperation I dug out the old Antec Truepower 380s I'd removed from my Sonata I case and lo and behold, success! I would never have thought that the psu was the problem. Live and learn.

 

[fullofzen]

Glad to hear this worked out. It's usually the really simple stuff that will trip you up.

Case in point, earlier in the year I bought a power supply from a very reputable manufacturer -- a PC Power and Cooling Silencer series. It was an older model, but it was brand new out of the box. When I started it up, it made a clicking noise at a rate of about 150 hertz. I'm thinking "Oh great -- this thing is out of warranty but brand-new. And now the thing is clicking."

Recognizing that it was out of warranty, I cracked the PSU case since I had nothing to lose and what do I find? A glob of rubber cement stuck to one of the fan blades. It was hitting the rim of the fan assembly every revolution.

It's usually the simple stuff....

 

[garyhope]

Great stories here about how simple things can be a problem. But it's good to find that there are some simple solutions also. Doesn't it make you feel good when you solve a problem?

 

[fullofzen]

Oh for sure -- it is one of the best feelings in the world.