2 DOA Motherboards - any way to test?

[gratefuldano]

My son and I thought it would be fun to build a computer together, but we are having problems with "No POST, No beeps, No video." Any help would be appreciated.

Components:

MB: ASRock 970 Extreme3 AMD3+
CPU: AMD FX-6300 6 Core Black AM3 FD6300WMHKBOX
RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 8GB (2x4)
PSU: Corsair 500W CX500R
Graphics: VGA Diamond 7850PE52GV2 HD7850 2GB

Case: Rosewill Redbone Black tower
DVD: Lite-On 24X DVD writer internal
HD: Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2 TB
O/S: Windows 7

We originally bought a Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AM3+, put the whole thing together in the case following the MoBo instructions as well as watching various you tube videos. When we powered it on, the CPU fan and graphics card fans spin, but nothing else happened. No beeps, no video. We disassembled it, and reassembled the MoBo, CPU, HS, RAM and video card and speaker outside of the case. Still no video, no POST beeps.

We found this website and followed the "Perform these steps before posting..." steps. Everything checked out. Connectors were plugged in properly, standoffs were used, everything was properly seated, no bent pins, etc. Removed the graphics card and RAM, should have had error beeps, but nothing.

I checked the PSU with a multimeter, all pins have correct voltage. After doing more research, I found out that the BIOS wasn't compatible. The MoBo newegg sent us was not the latest version, so it would not support the CPU without an update. I returned the MoBo and went with the Asrock listed above.

Now we have the same problem - No POST, no beeps, no video.

How likely is it that both MoBos are DOA? Is there anything else to check? This is very frustrating.

Is there any way to test the MoBo or CPU to see if they are defective?

Again, thank you for any advice you may have.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... have you set the BIO's to exterior PCIe video card? have you plugged your monitor into your exterior Video card? have you set your monitor to accept the type of signal from your exterior video card? VGA/DVI/HDMI? Have you tried another Video card?
Have you got the newest BIO's for your motherboard, to accept a newer/modern Video card/CPU?

 

[JeauxBleaux]

Your Asrock board requires bios P1.60 for that CPU. That's a fairly recent BIOS level (they're only up to P1.70 currently). I doubt your motherboard is bad, you just need to flash it.

Welcome to the bleeding edge of technology.

 

[maestro0428]

Yeah, you probably need to flash the board to a newer BIOS. To do that, you need a CPU that is compatible with the BIOS you have now.

 

[gratefuldano]

Thank you all for your responses, I will check which BIOS rev we have when I get home tonight. It looks like 1.60 was released on July 5, 2012, I would hope Newegg wouldn't ship us one that has been out of date for six months!

 

[gratefuldano]

Hello... have you set the BIO's to exterior PCIe video card? have you plugged your monitor into your exterior Video card? have you set your monitor to accept the type of signal from your exterior video card? VGA/DVI/HDMI? Have you tried another Video card?
Have you got the newest BIO's for your motherboard, to accept a newer/modern Video card/CPU?

Thank you for your response.

No, I can't get into the BIOS because the system won't POST. The MoBo doesn't have onboard video, would it need to be set for an exterior card?

The monitor has a VGA cord (wish it was HDMI), which we plugged into the video card with an adapter to fit the DVI port. Not an optimal arangement, but I tested the monitor with my laptop so I think it is OK.

I haven't tried another video card, because we can't even get the POST beeps at this point.

Will check the BIOS rev tonight.