PC isn't posting after installing GTX560 and Antec 750w HCG

hazeman

Distinguished
Nov 3, 2011
3
0
18,510
Hello everyone, (Skip the first 3 paragraphs to get to the point)

This is my first post on tom's hardware and I would like to say hello! I only recently discovered the wealth of knowledge that is hidden behind these walls but thank you all for contributing; very useful.

My setup is as follows:
Asus M3n HT Deluxe, Phenom x6 1100t, 8gigs Corsair xms2 ddr2 @ 800, Cooler master 500w PSU, Asus GTS450 1gddr5, windows 7 service pack 1 (64 bit) old skool alienware case (antec <3 it).

I only recently purchased the 1100t (upgrade from a phenom x4) and was blown away with the speed. I have never overclocked my machines but because this chip is Black Edition, I started to do my homework (alot of it here). Got it to 3.8ghz and left it there; I finished at 4ghz with max temps of ~55 with the Zalman cooler on it. It passed prime 95 and a few other tests nicely.

A problem did surface today and I have searched the web up and down for answers to no avail: I finally bit the bullet today and decided to upgrade my GPU and also a bigger PSU to supply it. Went to Fry's and purchased an Asus GTX560 OC and an Antec 750w Gaming PSU. I installed the power supply and the graphics card when I got home; no big deal.. or so I thought. Plugged it in and it powered up like normal; fans spinning, LED incicators on card are on, mobo light is on, sounds like HDD is spinning and now I have no video output coming from my computer

I have swapped back the old GPU and PSU in both combinations to no avail. I did some more reading of course, it turns out my computer isnt even posting.. kind of scary. I get no beep when I turn it on. I have also removed the battery to reset the bios; didnt work.

I do have one idea what it might be and if I am correct I made a stupid mistake: There were some pins on the board near the bottom and for some damn reason I felt compelled to plug my PSU to it when connecting everything up. It has seven pins and I believe the indication next to it is "SPI". After I troubleshooted the very first time that was one thing I changed; I unplugged it. After trying to find ANYTHING on SPI and what voltage from a psu would do to my system; I've come up empty handed.

So MY assumption is that I fried my board? I'm sweating bullets right now hoping that I didn't destroy my new cpu and everything else. I never smelled anything burning, didn't hear anything abnormal, and I dont see any signs of burning on the motherboard. Could I have damaged other components of my system?? I've yet to do the whole 1 stick of ram and minimize hardware because I needed to take a break

If anyone can give me any insight on the matter I would be VERY grateful. I apologize for the ridiculously long post but I thought it would avoid potential questions. Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!

Cheers
 
SPI is Serial Peripheral Interface Bus.

It is used by motherboard techs or manufacturers to initially program the BIOS chip. It is also used in the case where the end user has borked a BIOS flash update and they RMA/send the motherboard in to have its BIOS reflashed.

Burning out the BIOS chip or screwing up the BIOS code would render the motherboard unbootable.