[Solved] New Custom Build Won't Turn On

Hello Tom's hardware community,

So I just finished placing and plugging all of the components for my new PC build. is the hardware:

AsRock 970 3extreme MB
AMD Phenom x4 II Black 980 CPU
Corsair 600W PSU (modular)
SataIII 7200 500 GB HDD
SataIII 60GB SSD
2x4 GB RAM
Saphire AMD Radeon 6870 GPU

It won't turn on. I've double checked to see that the case plugs are in the right place, but all i get power wise is my USB cards lighting up when they are plugged in, which means that the MB is getting power yes?

I'm not sure where to start here, and maybe someone could help?

Thanks!

What exactly do you mean by "won't turn on".

Do you mean:
1) No response whatsoever
2) Turns on and turns back off immediately
3) Continually restarts

I am going to assume you mean #1. If not, specify which one you really mean and try to be more clear about things.

Assuming #1:

Did you use the standoffs to keep the back of the motherboard from touching the case wall? If you did not, you absolutely must do this or it will never work.

Did you plug the PSU twice into the motherboard? You absolutely must plug in the big fat power cable as well as the 4 pin square cable into the port near the processor.

Did you plug the right cable into the CPU processor port? The one that goes in here should be either an 4x2 (8) cable with 4 hanging off the edge or a cable with 2 little 2x2 cords very close together on the same wire. If not, plug the one with 2 square 2 round ones into this port.

If all those things are as they should be, then take everything back out of the case and put it all on a wooden table. Touch the metal part of the case early and often during this process to get rid of any static charge you might have. You can destroy parts with static shock even if you can't personally feel the shock.

Plug the PSU twice into the motherboard when it is outside the case and try to turn it on by laying a flat screwdriver across the two pins on the motherboard labeled PWR_BTN.

Report any responses from the system during these tests.

Hey thanks for replies both of you. Raiddinn, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. You were correct in assuming that there was no response whatsoever.

In response to a few items, I haven't done the tests yet.

Yes the gold standoffs are in place, with black screws going into the motherboard to set everything in place.

There is a large plug and a 4 pin square, both are installed. Also, the large plug has a much smaller plug with it that has an arrow facing the large plug, the large plug having an arrow that also points back. These are all in the mother board: The smaller plug near the processor, and the largest just above the end of the video card to the right of the motherboard.

I'm going to go ahead and try your tests. Thanks. I'll be back when I get through.

Camel

Thanks again.

So I did a full deconstruction, and found that we had placed in an extra MOBO stand screw. After removing this and adding everything back to the MoBo, PSU, etc.

Tada! Power.

But... There is nothing coming up on our monitor, which is plugged into the wall and the comp. Tried both the monitor adaptor and an HDMI cable.

All fans, led's, HDD, SDD, GPU, etc. Have power.

So why black screen?

Thanks,

Camel

make sure your video card is properly pushed onto the motherboard all the way. This happens alot with new custom builds that the screw is not secure and allows the video card to be very loose. If it is pushed in try resetting the memory. Those are really only the 2 simple ways to fix this issue. If not then it might be your mobo..

Let me know

Hey,

Thanks! But I checked and the gpu is secure, and the fan is running on it.

I pulled out a stick of ram amd only placed one in the A1 slot.

Hmm...

I read the sticky and none ofnthosenissues seem to apply here.

Thanks again

Its a dell monitor. There is an adaptor that came with the 6870 to fit the normal monitor plug. Also I've tried an hdmi.

I don't know ifmitsnthe monitor...

Could the gpu be fried even if iota fan is running?

Well I don't have another monitor. O well.

The monitor works with my laptop and both the blue cable connection amd the hdmi cable...

I've tried all the ways with the video card connection, any other ideas?

Camel

Do you have some other video card you could borrow from a different computer you could try in this new computer?

Any other computers in the house or that a nearby relative owns?

Any other parts laying around that are compatible that you can test?

What I meant was.. You said you just grabbed a 6870 from somewhere and I was wondering if you could also grab something else from wherever you grabbed that.

Yes, if you have a PC speaker and it is plugged in right then one beep means you have POSTed successfully which doesn't seem to be happening.

If you have an aftermarket cooler for the CPU try replacing it with the regular one that came with the box if you got one with it.

It sounds like the problem is the processor or the motherboard at this moment.

You might try checking the CPU to see if there are any bent pins too.

Oh, and the fan is stock.

It's gotta be the mobo...

son of a gun, i hope it didnt short all of the components. based on what i described earlier, do you think that i may have shorted the CPU as well.

damn cat.

I already scoped the extreme3 out Raid, no onboard socket for gfx
Moto

Hey again fellas,

Thanks so much for the help. Turns out it was the Mobo.

I bought a new one and a processor (in case it was also failing) and then replaced the motherboard first.

First time i powered it up Bam! POST. Hurray!

Loaded windows and now I'm enjoying the beauty of this great gfx card and power of my processor. You really helped me narrow down the problems, so i appreciate it.

Cheers to you.

camel