New motherboard, cpu, and ram. PC won't start?

[noctmonster]

I just recently upgraded from a quad 2 core to the i5 2500k.
I bought an AsRock h61m/u3s3 with 8gb DDR3 1333mhz RAM.

So I uninstalled my old motherboard along with the cpu and set up the new asrock mobo, cpu, and ram.

Now everything is in place, the wires and cpu and heatsink.
The PC wont start. There's no sign of the motherboard turning on. No lights or sounds.

I click the on button on the case and I hear a click from the PSU (Antec EarthWatts 650, which I have used for over a year now) but the motherboard doesn't show any light and there is no display. Right after I hear the click, nothing happens.

Is there a short going on? Did I connect something wrong? Is the motherboard DOA? I don't think it's incorrect wiring because I installed this PSU over a year ago with no problems.

I also read that it might be the RAM? I have two sticks. I'm gonna try using only one.
My GPU is a radeon HD 6790.

I'm thinking maybe there's a short going on or the mobo is just DOA.
any help would be appreciated.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

I tend to agree with your assessment that it sounds like a short or a DOA mobo, but to rule out a short, set it up outside the case in a test bench style to see if it will work then. You'll have to short the power switch pins to start it in that setup, but that's easily done with a screwdriver. Before you even do that though, I would recommend that you should just double and triple check that all wires are connected properly and seated well and that the RAM and GPU are seated well. You could also try taking out the GPU and just booting of the iGPU to see if that helps.

 

[noctmonster]

I did the POST test and it did work so I went back and checked the wires and all. Indeed it was some system head wires that were misplaced. stupid me
So now I got the computer up and running. I thought I would have to clean install windows 7, do I really need to do that? or is that just an option?
Also when I booted I opened speccy and it shows my ram at 532 mhz. why is that?
Do I need to set up some Bios first? and then install the drivers on the cd that came with the mobo?
What do I do after my computer has succesfully booted?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Good to hear that you got it running!

As far as Windows goes, yeah, since you did a complete platform change (ie. mobo and CPU), you should definitely do a clean install. It may be working without doing that, but it's not optimal, and can cause a lot of problems.

For the RAM, go into the BIOS and check that the RAM is set to 1333. It may be incorrectly detecting the RAM speed when set to auto, so just set it to 1333 to be safe. That will still show as 666 in Speccy though, so don't let that discourage you.

And I'm not sure I understand what you're asking with the last question.

EDIT: Sorry, missed the CD drivers question. They will work, but they're more than likely outdated, so just go download the newest drivers off of the support page before you reinstall and put them on a USB stick or burn them to a CD, if you can..

 

[noctmonster]

thank you for the information and help! really helped.
and the last question was just like an overall of everything that I asked

So when I install the clean windows, do I insert the cd that came with the mobo and install those drivers? I kept a backup of all my previous drivers just incase I need them for something.

Also is there a default key to go to BIOS?
can I install windows 7 from a bootable usb?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Read the edit to my last post for the drivers question, I just forgot to add it to the original post, lol. The key to get to the BIOS should be either the Delete key or F2. And yes, as long as the USB drive is bootable, you can install Win 7 from there.

After everything is successfully installed and all updated drivers installed, there shouldn't be anything left to do. It should be great from there.

 

[noctmonster]

Ok I just booted up into BIOS and all changed the ram to 1333mhz and I as I was checking the BIOS i noticed the CPU tempereature is at around 55C. Is that incorrect? I had checked before on speccy and it shows 33C. What is the correct one?

And would it be ok after installing windows 7 to just install the cd drivers THEN upgrade the drivers? I feel it would take less time than finding and downloading all the drivers individually

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

That does sound too warm for the BIOS temp, but if it's running cool in the OS, I wouldn't worry about it. In the BIOS, the power saving features aren't active, so it's expected to be a little higher there. You could try to stress test it with Prime 95 in the OS to see where your temps are at full load to determine if there's an issue with the thermal paste or if the HSF isn't making good contact. For reference, my 2500K @ 4.1 Ghz and 1.240V at idle (Turbo and SpeedStep disabled, in my case) runs in the high 30's with the stock HSF, and in Prime 95 it goes to the high 70's (with a load voltage of 1.192V). High 70's is pushing it a bit, but not totally unsafe. It stays below 70 in anything but Prime and Intel Burn test though.

Yeah, it should be fine to just install the drivers from the CD and update later, it's just easier to install the updated drivers first because, usually, installing the updated drivers requires uninstalling the old ones first (usually automatic, but not always).

 

[noctmonster]

Why is it that you have your i5 2500k overclocked at 4.1ghz with no turbo?
Wouldn't it be better to have it at 3.7ghz with turbo?

Just some noob questions since I'm new to overclocking.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Just personal preference really, no good reason, lol. I just like running at full speed 24/7... At the voltages and temps I'm at, it won't hurt anything anyway.

 

[noctmonster]

oh my god I feel like a total noob here. I try to run BIOS at startup but I never seem to catch the right moment to click the f11 key to boot into usb drive. Is there a trick to get it working?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

As soon as you see the BIOS screen, press and hold F8 or F11. It's F8 with my Asus board, but it looks like you can use either one with that board. If one doesn't work, just try the other. Alternately, you should just be able set the boot priority to boot from the USB drive first in the BIOS setup itself.

 

[noctmonster]

Ok seems like I got the right timing.
One last question.
When installing windows 7, do I click custom and then format? or can I just click custom to install new windows 7 without formatting?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

For a clean install like this needs to be, there's really no reason not to format, unless you have something that you haven't backed up and need to keep.

 

[noctmonster]

Ok did clean install. I'm using the pc right now
One issue though is that the CPU seems to be idling at 35-39C right now and I think it raised to 42C while watching videos.
Is that normal for now since it's barely put in or did I put the thermal paste wrong?
I followed artic silver's instructions to apply a thin line vertically. And now I'm reading that a pea sized appliance is better. I'm using the stock cooler.
Should I keep it like this and test it a little further or just remount it using the pea size portion?
Also how do I check if the cooler is properly mounted?

I should also note that room temperature right now is at about 82C and my computer is in the carpet

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

With that ambient temp (I'm thinking you meant 82F, lol), that seems about right actually. My room temp is 73F, for comparison. If you want, you could go ahead and redo the thermal paste, though, just to be sure. Idle temps (and light load temps) don't really matter anyway, as long as they're not stupidly high, so as long as you're not seeing crazy temps like 85-90+C at full load in Prime 95 or IBT, you should be good.

The stock Intel cooler isn't great anyway, but if all of the pins are fully snapped in and locked, it should be fine. You can try lightly pulling on the whole HSF assembly to see if there's any movement. It should obviously be tightly snapped in though.

 

[noctmonster]

so just for future reference which way would you say is the best effective in applying thermal paste?
And yes my room temperature is always very hot since I live in a desert area. It's usually about 82F and since I have my computer down in the carpet I guess I doesn't get that much ventilation and cooling.
I notice that my GPU idles at about 33C on cold days and at about 39C on hot days like these, so I guess room temperature really does matter in the end.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The pea sized and grain of rice sized methods at the center of the CPU are what is usually recommended around here, but a few others recommend a thin layer covering the whole processor (being sure not to get any on anything but the heat spreader on the CPU). I've personally tried all of those plus the thin line method too, and never noticed much of a difference, really. That main thing is just not to use too much or too little, no matter what method you use.

And yeah, ambient temp can sometimes make or break a good OC, too.

 

[noctmonster]

thanks for answering all of my questions, you're a life saver!

 

[noctmonster]

Best answer selected by noctmonster.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

No problem, and glad to help! Happy that we were able to get everything working and it's all good to go now!