Z77 Extreme 4 - Build Question

[Rocksilver]

Hi there!

I just joined up today (five minutes ago, actually!) and I want to ask this fine community about a build question I'm having a hard time figuring out.

I recently got my z77 extreme board from Newegg along with an I5 CPU and a Cooler Master fan.

I also got an Artic Silver Thermal Tube and correctly applied to both the CPU and The Fan. So no burning smell from the CPU!

Well, now here is the issue I'm having:

After installing the Mother board to my atx tower, complete with brass nobs under it, I went ahead and installed every piece of hardware carefully to the booklet.

Now when I start it up, the components turn on and stop a second later.

Now, before coming to you fine ladies and gentlemen, I tried to troubleshoot it myself, as with any decent tech junkie should do.

Here is a rundown of what I did:

1. Put on a anti-static wrist strap

2. Propped open the case on a wooden table

3. carefully put each component on an anti-static mat.

At this point, I started to breadboard each component with several restarts via the board's power button, everything was working fine until...

I noticed that when I used the Power supply's power connectors to power on the hard drive, the computer simply powers on and shuts off.

I figure: Is that what's causing the short?

So I wipe the hard drive after getting key files out (my documents, music etc.), I installed windows 8 again and everything is running great.

Then the computer goes out again.

So ladies and Gents, here is my dilemma.

What is causing the short? Is it the PSU?

I should also mention that everything was dusted out with a set of canned air...cans.

Here is my specs:

Z77 Extreme 4 Motherboard

Intel I5 CPU and Coolermaster CPU Hyper 212 Plus Treated with Artic Silver Thermal Compound.

(I read on the other tom's forums that it should be spread evenly around with a pea sized drop on each component.)

EVGA brand Nvidia GTX 560

One 8GB Vengeance stick of RAM

One Seagate 360 GB Hard Drive.

One Antec 750 Watt PSU.

Finally, One Multi-read/write DVD/Blueray Drive. I believe its 8x, but I'm not certain.

If anyone should wonder what my ATX case is, its a Rosewill Challenger.

I really hope you boys and girls could help me with my problem.

Thanks,

Rocksilver

 

[SPEED94]

Yeah , its like some sort of PSU error , as far as I can guess from far. Try without the video card - if it runs its definately a PSU problem - if not then we have to do some further steps to see if its fine ? Have you tried with another PSU while breadboarding ?

 

[smorizio]

make sure you conencted the 4/8 pin atx power plug. that gives extra power to the mb. i would start with one dimm and no video or hard drives and make sure you can get into the mb bios and let the system sit there for 20-30 min and watch the mb temps. if the temps and voltages look good. from another pc download and update the bios of the mb from a usb stick. a lot of z77 mb new bios updates for cpu code..ram code..usb hangs..video cards..the list of updates for your mb is preaty long. think the bios is now up to 2.8 for your mb.

 

[GamerXtreme2013]

im not sure if its a bios update that he needs to update due to ASRock z77 extreme4 mobo are up to date with most ram codes , it sounds like a psu problem tbh.

 

[Proximon]

It's just one pea sized amount of thermal paste, not two.

Your problem sounds very intermittent. You successfully installed Win 8 in between issues, so I would suspect some other variable. Perhaps it's temperature.

 

[Ponyface]

99% sure it's your motherboard. I had the same problem. Twice. Same culprit each time, and one of them was a z77 extreme 4

 

[Rocksilver]

Temperature... I do have three fans running at Full On mode and I get a burst of fresh cool air when I put my hand over the upper fan.

I haven't had a chance to observe the temperature readings yet, but I'll do so when I return home.

could there be a short coming from the fans draining too much power? I've personally never had a problem running fans at full on mode..then again, my last motherboard was a ipibl-la berkley.

As to another PSU, its a stock power supply with barely 230 watts, but it should be enough to run it without the card installed. I'll try it as soon as possible.

I'll let you guys know with another update soon.

Thanks,

Rocksilver

Edit: I forgot to mention that it was plugged in with the 4/8 connectors on the MB, but I'll reseat it once more to make sure.

 

[MyNewPCBuild]

I also got an Artic Silver Thermal Tube and correctly applied to both the CPU and The Fan.........applied to FAN?????????

 

[Rocksilver]

haha!

no no, even I know that's a joke...right?

in all seriousness, I only put the compound on the appropriate spot: The Square zone with the direct contact heat pipes.

I also applied the latest bios firmware, so the board is up to date.

EDIT: I also installed CPUID to monitor temps and I'm slightly concerned at the results.

Hard Drive:

Temps are reading at 40 degrees Celsius (104 F)

Overheating could be an issue, but when I feel the the fans, I feel nothing but cool air.

CPU (I5 Sandy):

Its steady at 26 to 31 Celsius (78 F to 86 F)

Fans are running at 1500 to 1900 rpm

 

[Proximon]

Those temps are all great.

Have you tried wiggling the power cables while it's running? I had a Corsair 750TX that developed a loose 24-pin once and would cut out on me sometimes.

 

[SPEED94]

Those are not your problem at all....just check the power supply. If you go on roaming on other intensive sides of your PC that are not your problems you will end up in a situation where a real world helping hand also can not bring back your money.This forum is far off things.

 

[Rocksilver]

Well, I do exercise caution whenever I touch anything "hot", as it says.

I did notice that sometimes the 24 pin would sometimes needed to be re seated but other than that, no real problems with the 24 pin.

The power connector to the hard drive does sometimes get loose when I move it out of the stored area. So much so that I left the side of the computer unscrewed for easier access.

On a lighter note, I'm getting updates for the new installation without blackouts or restarts. So thats good.

I do get an error code whenever I'm updating my nvidia card, but that may be I didn't update my .net framework.

EDIT: Just updated .net framework.

So now, I'm going to try and update again.

Wish me luck,

Rocksilver

 

[SPEED94]

.net framework update ? Well the problem you mentioned at first....your approach makes no sense as it clearly notifies of some hardware default or at max bios/firmware default. Anyway best of luck for your venture.