New build, no post

[Scshadow]

Hello, I'm building a new gaming machine. My components are:
Sabertooth x58 motherboard
Corsair 950TX PSU (I think I bit overkill but it was on a good sale)
Core I7 950 w/ v8 coolermaster aftermarket CPU cooler
G.skill 1600mhz 6x4GB(total of 24 GB, good sale on dual channel kit so I got 3!)
2x palit 1gb gtx 460s
Haf X case.



I'm troubleshooting no post. First time attempting to turn it on, I got a blank screen with fans and leds running. So I removed my video cards and I tested one at a time. No change. I removed all but one stick of memory and then swaped it out a couple times as well. Second time I reseated the ram, the computer started not even running the fans anymore. I've reseated all power connectors and I've disconnected all drives. Now all I get when I press the power button is 2 red led flashing up momentarily. The manual says that these LEDs are "POST state LEDS to check key components. My PCI card and CPU LEDs are the 2 flashing red LEDS. This is my second build and I can't imagine there is something wrong with both my cpu and my GPU. Anyway to tell if I have a bad motherboard? Maybe PSU? I don't have an extra PSU btw.

 

[mailpup]

Just checking but did you use the motherboard standoffs at all the screw holes?

 

[Scshadow]

Just checking but did you use the motherboard standoffs at all the screw holes?

Yes sir.

 

[mailpup]

Make sure you connect the 8 pin 12v motherboard connector at the upper left part of the board. If there is a sticky label or paper covering 4 of the pins, remove it so you can connect all 8 pins.

 

[red1776]

...and then trace your front panel I/O/HDD LED and reset wires, make sure they are in the correct places.
also, is your HDD spinning up? assuming you have one in there.

 

[Scshadow]

I have all 8 pins connected to the motherboard And I have reseated both motherboard power connecters(with power off) and inspected them closely. They are in place.

I have an SSD for a the main drive and 2 wd blacks 1tb. Back when it would actually spin the fans I didn't hear any HDD spinning or any ssd ssding (not that you can hear that running) . After reseating some ram modules was when it happened to quit spinning the fans/turn on the front LED. But it seems coincidental.

The front panel connectors are good. I checked those. The sabertoothx58 came with the adapter that makes attaching the front panel connections easy. A lifesaver compared to my first build.

 

[Scshadow]

Alright, I pulled the mobo and put it on a anti-static bag. I went ahead and took off the V8 cooler and put stock on. Removed the cmos battery for a little while. I had to keep the video card because there isn't any integrated video. Then I made all the power connections and now it as least spinning my CPU fan again, the rest of the fans are disconnected.. The red LEDs light up whenever it gets turned off so thats why when it came on and immediately turned off, the CPU and PCI leds light up. But now while the fans are running, the ram led stays on. I didn't notice it last time but then again I wasn't looking for that LED. I stole a stick of ram from another computer that I know works. Its still not posting.

 

[mailpup]

In your first post and this last post you mentioned a PCI card. What PCI card is this? Did you mean the PCI-E graphics card or a PCI-E SSD? If it is some regular PCI card, leave it out when you try to boot the system with the mobo on the anti-static bag.

By process of elimination it's starting to look like either the motherboard or possibly the PSU despite the fact it provides some power.

 

[Scshadow]

In your first post and this last post you mentioned a PCI card. What PCI card is this? Did you mean the PCI-E graphics card or a PCI-E SSD? If it is some regular PCI card, leave it out when you try to boot the system with the mobo on the anti-static bag.

By process of elimination it's starting to look like either the motherboard or possibly the PSU despite the fact it provides some power.

I left in out once to see if I got a beep(I do have the internal speaker attached) but , there is no integrated video, so I generally leave at least one video card in. It looks like my ram area is bad as that is where the LED comes on.

While my PSU has a few extra bad reviews, my motherboard has a fairly high percentage of the negative newegg reviews that say specifically their RAM slots were DOA. It seems like the best chance I have is to roll the dice and pick either the mobo or the PSU and send it back. Based on the mobo reviews that had problems with the ram POST light always on like me, I'm thinking its my best bet. But its hard to say for sure it isn't PSU. BUT, its Christmas, I have a whole day to keep diagnosing... yay. Just no other hardware to test with. My first build was built for my parents so I don't have access to that.

 

[mailpup]

Yes, it's too bad you don't have any spare hardware. That would simplify matters.

 

[Tedster]

read the various "NO POST" guides in the guides forum

 

[Scshadow]

Well, it seemed like it was the motherboard and it was that motherboard. I went ahead and returned the sabertooth bit the bullet and got a Rampage III Formula. Got everything to work... except my PCI wireless adapter that I now had room for.

So get this, I went to asus support hoping on the off chance maybe it was a chipset driver issue. They told me my 950 watt PSU wasn't sufficient for 2 gtx 460s and thats why my pci wireless adapter wasn't working under idle...BS... FML.

PS wireless adapter has been used before.

 

[Leeky]

They told me my 950 watt PSU wasn't sufficient for 2 gtx 460s

Total rubbish, even a decent 650w PSU could handle them, although its recommended to use 700w+ for SLI GTX460's in order to have some power capacity to spare.