New build, no fans no post

[perndog]

I just ordered a whole system worth of new parts from Newegg. Got them home, put them together, tried to start up. The case and CPU fans and the case LEDs came on for a few seconds when I flipped the switch on the power supply. Nothing happened when I pushed the power button. No fans, no lights, no beeps.

I disconnected everything except the case fan from the PSU and tried a paper clip test. Fan spun for several seconds with no problem. Powered up a DVD drive just for the hell of it, that worked too. Plugged the power supply into the motherboard and stuck the paper clip into the appropriate pins from the back, and both the case fan and the CPU fan spun. The PSU has no voltage selector, so I'm assuming it wants regular USA voltage.

Removed the video card (mobo has onboard video anyway). No change. Removed memory. No change.

I now have the mobo sitting on a cardboard box with nothing on it but the CPU, CPU fan, and a speaker; I left the power supply in the case and just stood it next to the box to hook up the power again (remembering to connect both the 24-pin ATX plug and the 4-pin CPU plug). It behaves the same as it did when everything was in the case and connected.

I removed and replaced the CMOS battery. Shorting the CMOS reset pins makes the speaker click once and the fans spin for a second. I hooked up the case power switch to these pins to test it, got the same result. Manually shorting the power switch pins on the motherboard has no effect.

It seems like the motherboard is just dead and I should send for a replacement, but I was wondering if there might be something I'm missing. Note: I don't have any electronics testing tools handy. Just screwdrivers and a paperclip.

I did the build on a wooden table while standing on a stone floor. No wrist strap but I touched the inside of the case plenty. I can't rule out the possibility of accidentally frying something on the motherboard myself, but I handled everything pretty carefully. There are no visible defects on any of the mobo components.

Specs (all parts new):

Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Socket 1155 ATX motherboard
Corsair TX650M 650W power supply
Intel Core i3-2100 CPU with stock cooler
Thermaltake SopranoRS 101 mid tower chassis
G.SKILL Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3 memory
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 graphics card
WD Caviar 750GB HDD
hp 24x CD/DVD Writer

Any suggestions?

 

[zolton33]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/269162-13-recommended-builds-usage)

A lot of good advice there i'd check them out and see if they help out.

 

[perndog]

I read the post that said TRY THIS BEFORE POSTING, and I know how obnoxious it is to hear someone asking for help when the information they need is right in front of them. So I read a dozen other similar posts and tried every suggestion I could find before I got fed up enough to ask about it. Like I said, I have my components bare on a cardboard box, and no configuration I try, from CPU only to the whole works, gets me so far as a beep code.

I'm leaving the CMOS battery out overnight because someone on some other forum said that fixed a problem once upon a time.

 

[zolton33]

It seems like you already nailed it down to a doa motherboard. I'd send it back to get it replaced if it works great if not it could be that your psu is not putting out enough power and you can try having it replaced if the motherboard does not seem to be the problem. Some times you can end up with a lemon or 2 it sucks i know but there are bound to be duds when you mass produce things.

 

[perndog]

Well, I sent a very thorough message to Gigabyte technical support just in case that will solve anything.

Would you recommend getting another of the same model or trying a different one? I'm happy with the features on this one, everything seems well laid out and sturdy. All I really want, though, is an LGA 1155 socket, full ATX form factor, and DDR3 1600 support, and this is about the highest rated item on Newegg for its price range.

 

[zolton33]

Yeah i'd just have it replaced for a new one. Especially if you like it.

 

[perndog]

Newegg's RMA process was easy and quick. Got the replacement in the mail after 10 business days (UPS 5 days there and 5 back), tested outside the case BEFORE installing everything this morning, and now my new computer is working fine.