Aggrivating problem

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
P

phoenix05

Distinguished
Apr 3, 2009
7
0
18,510
So I'm having a serious issue. I bought new parts to build myself a new machine but the damn thing won't post and neither me or any of my friends can figure out why. Here is the setup

mobo - EVGA nForce 780i sli
proc - intel core 2 quad q9400
video card - nvidia 9800gtx
RAM - corsair ddr2 1066MHz PC 8500
psu - Tuniq Ripper 1000w

I tried using some ddr2 800mhz ram and a q9300 proc and it still made no difference. I had this same problem with an ASUS P5Q board I tried before this evga one. HELP!
 
absolutely nothing. The fans spin for a fraction of a second and I see the light my disc drives come on for a fraction as well then nothing comes on. If I push the power button again not even that happens. I have to turn off the PSU and turn it back on to even get that. Since I noticed I forgot to mention it before its 4GB of RAM.
 
I'm going to go with either a bad mobo or possibly bad PSU, both of the ones you used in your system are questionable. The 7 series mobo's are notorious for having issues. That PSU you chose is low quality even though its 1000w...you should use PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, or Seasonic for the best results.
 
After the checklist, try this:
(My 680i motherboard makes the following beep patterns. Your 780i should match.)

Pull everything except the CPU and HSF. Boot. You should hear a series of long single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence here indicates, in probable order, a bad PSU, motherboard, or CPU - or a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU.

To eliminate the possiblility of a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU, you will need to pull the motherboard out of the case and reassemble the components on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" - from the 1920's homebrew radio days. I always breadboard a new or recycled build. It lets me test components before I go through the trouble of installing them in a case.

Here's a somewhat extreme example of breadboarding:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-262730_13_0.html

If you get the long beeps, add a stick of RAM. Boot. The beep pattern should change to one long and two or three short beeps. Silence indicates that the RAM is shorting out the PSU (very rare). Long single beeps indicates that the BIOS does not recognize the presence of the RAM.

If you get the one long and two or three short beeps, test the rest of the RAM. If good, install the video card and any needed power cables and plug in the monitor. If the video card is good, the system should successfully POST (one short beep, usually) and you will see the boot screen and messages.

Note - an inadequate PSU will cause a failure here or any step later.
Note - you do not need drives or a keyboard to successfully POST (generally a single short beep).
 
"I'm going to go with either a bad mobo or possibly bad PSU, both of the ones you used in your system are questionable. The 7 series mobo's are notorious for having issues. That PSU you chose is low quality even though its 1000w...you should use PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, or Seasonic for the best results."

I might be inclined to agree with you if one I hadn't gone thru 3 mobo's with the exact same problem now (first two were ASUS and besides that fact the odds of getting 3 bad ones in a row are nearly infinite) and the PSU is actually good (just b/c you might not have heard of the brand or it not being a big name doesn't mean its low quality). I also used 3 different PSU's, two of which were ones I knew worked before and I still got the same result.
 
So i did some research on your psu. A lot of reviewers consider it a mid range psu. To sum up one I read at hardocp; the stability of the 12volt rails were what was holding it back (for me being a gamer that would flag this as a no go since I need those 12 volts to be rock solid for my gpu). To comment about phoenix's we are to harsh on judging psu's because there not a big name is probally true. But my thoughts are there is a reason why certain psu's become big names. And that is because they built themselves up there. Antec i think is a great example of that. Their psu's started of medocore and now for example the Antec 850 signature is one of the best money can buy. I think the people at toms do a great job at not being fanboys. Many of the people here seem content at suggesting the best parts for the price vs preformance ratio and also including the quality of the parts.

Now i'm not sure the psu is the problem here, probally not, but xthekidx and jsc's comments are very valid concerns. they both field many questions each day and these are common problems. Many of the regulars here at tom have yeeearrrss of experince and are very well qualified to say some of the things they do.

As like kyeanna stated...have you gone through the checklist? Your problem is probally somewhere in there.
 
I have heard of Tuniq PSU's, they are not good quality. You get what you pay for with those. If you have already tried three different motherboards with the same problem then try a new PSU.
 
Ive tried three PSU's. One of them an Antec and since I'm not home right now I can't check what the other one was, dont remember off hand. Also not being home I haven't been able to try that checklist yet, when I get home Sunday it's the first thing I'm doing. I appreciate the help
 
I had the same problem with an XFX 780i mobo, what it turned out being was a short between my heatsink back plate and the mobo. Wrapped the back of my heatsink back plate with electrical tape and success followed. Hope this helps if you are using this type of heatsink/fan.
 
Try to use a working system and test your components in that system and idnetify the failing component. For example, try the memory, then the video card, then the CPU, and finally the PSU. Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom