Is the board DOA?

[Zydeco Joe]

Just assembled a new rig, components as follows:

GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V LGA 1155 board
Intel Core i5-2400 3.1 GHz
GeForce GTX 560 1024MB
8 GB (2 x 4GB) G.Skill Sniper series RAM (PC1833)
Creative Fatal1ty series sound card
OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB SSD
Corsair TX750 PSU

Once assembled, the system fails to power up at all. I've checked and doublechecked all connections (especially the front panel I/O) and seatings, tried it without the RAM, the sound card, and the SSD to see I get the BIOS warning, and switched out the PSU, all without effect. Is it likely just a bad board, or might something have gone ugly-wrong with, say the CPU?

Edit: Btw, the case is an Antec Sonata III I've been using for five years, so I'm pretty confident it's not the case.

Edit 2: Picked up replacement board, different model: Asus P8Z77-V LK. Same issue, though the standby power LED does come on.

 

[nikorr]

Did u perform a clean install?

 

[nikorr]

Reset the CMOS memory the right way as is described in the motherboard manual using the clear CMOS link with the power cord unplugged.
And when the battery is out, press the power button to discharge all the electricity from the system.
How To Clear CMOS @ http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/tp/clearcmos.htm
[flash=480,270]http://www.youtube.com/v/rdHH9KrceR0?version=3&feature=player_detailpage[/flash]

 

[nikorr]

Can u reseat the RAM or try different slots?

 

[nikorr]

BTW, did u plug in all the wires? The 8pin + ....

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Hiya. Just got back up and was able to check all the responses today. The wiring was cool. This particular board doesn't have an 8-pin connector--just the 4-pin 12V ATX.

The components were all fresh out of the box except the sound card and case. Also reseated the memory and it didn't do anything.

I'll check out your video and see if that might help out. Otherwise, I can always avail myself of Newegg's 30-day return/replace policy.

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Now, one thing I didn't do was connect the HD audio header, given that I have a sound card. Do I need to do that anyway?

 

[Guest]

Double check the front panel connections. You`re certain that the power switch is on the right pins? No, you do not need sound to boot. Does it boot in to bios or no power at all, fans spinning?
Also, make sure the PSU is switched on. There is a rocker style switch near where the power cord plugs into it.

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Hey, j4t. In order, the Power SW connector is on the right pins, and oriented properly; thanks for the heads-up--I won't fool with the HDA connector; no power reaches the system at all. The power switch does nothing.

Also, the PSU is switched on, so that's not the issue.

 

[Guest]

Disconnect PSU from board, the 4pin CPU and the 24 main. google the paper clip test and see if the PSU powers on - fans spin.

Corsair provided PSU FAQ
http://www.corsair.com/en/support/faq/power-supplies/

Again, Corsair paper clip test, now with pics
http://www.corsair.com/en/blog/testing-your-corsair-power-supply/

 

[Zydeco Joe]

I'm 99% confident it's not the PSU, since I connected a second PSU that's known to work with no change in result.

I can also rule out the power cord; that, too, was replaced with the same result.

 

[Guest]

Motherboard may just be DOA.

did you do as Nikorr suggested and clear cmos/reset bios?

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Not yet, as I'm at the office. This one has a jumper assembly and the manual says to short the leads with a screwdriver.

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Replaced board today, still no power up. So now I'm stumped. At this point, it can only be a bad PSU (or maybe TWO bad PSUs, given that I tested this with the spare), or a bad PowerSW connector in the case I've been using for five years without incident. I guess I'll try the paper clip test tomorrow.

The new board does give me the onboard standby power LED after using the reset switch to power up, but, again, no fans, beeps, or any other sign that power is reaching the board.

Btw, new board has a standard CMOS jumper you can reset, as opposed to the other board, which had two leads you had to short. So, here's the plan for this evening:

1) Clear CMOS by reseating the jumper. If this works, go to (4).
2) If that fails, check the PSU by running the paper clip test.
3) If that succeeds, then the most likely culprit is the front panel connectors. If it fails, bad PSU.
4) Drink beer.

 

[TenPc]

Your ram is not compatible with the motherboard, even G.Skill does not have it listed.
http://www.gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&search2=R0EtQjc1TS1EM1Y=&model=1575

The ram should only be 2 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM
The nearest thing I can find that almost matches your specs of the ram -
[ ARES] F3-1333C9D-8GAO
DDR3-1333 PC3 10600 / 10666 8GB(4GB x 2) CL 9-9-9-2N 1.5 Volts

The G.Skill that would best suit you would be -
[ ARES] F3-1600C9S-4GAB / F3-1600C9D-8GAB
DDR3-1600 PC3 12800 4GB(4GB x 1) / 8GB(4GB x 2) CL 9-9-9-2N 1.5 Volts XMP Ready for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Generation Intel Core Processors Compatible with AMD platform.

 

[Zydeco Joe]

The new motherboard actually inadvertently addressed this issue--I went with a different model for the replacement, an Asus P8Z77-V LK. The Snipers are listed as compatible with this board: http://www.gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&model=1545

(it's the F3-14900-CL9D model halfway down the page)

 

[Zydeco Joe]

The PSU passed the paper clip test, with and without load. Based on everything else I've read, I have to conclude that the front panel of the case has loose wiring, or shorted out.

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Best answer selected by Zydeco Joe.