Question First Time Build Help

[firstevermotherboard]

Hi all! I've been building my first PC (thus first motherboard ever). My boyfriend and I put it together. We have everything connected, and the computer turns on. But the VGA light comes on every time. The monitor I have plugged in to the HDMI port stays black, no signal to it. We have tried reseating the graphics card, reseating the RAM, checking the GPU for damage (none), replugging the power supply, replacing the monitor HDMI cord (nothing wrong with it). I tried hitting the reset button a couple times, nothing. I hit the flash bios button, nothing. (I may have ruined everything) The graphics card's fans spin, the processor's does too, the case's fans come on. So where is the problem? Please help!!

Here's all the parts we used:

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk MAX WiFi Gaming Motherboard (AMD Ryzen 5000 Series, AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA 6Gb/s, M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI/DP, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 2.5Gbps LAN, ATX)​

RAM (set of 4): G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series (Intel XMP) DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MT/s CL16-19-19-39 1.35V Desktop Computer Memory UDIMM - Black (F4-3600C16D-16GVKC)​

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Prism LED Cooler​

SSD: SAMSUNG 990 EVO SSD 2TB, PCIe Gen 4x4, Gen 5x2 M.2 2280 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive, Speeds Up to 5,000MB/s, Upgrade Storage for PC Computer, Laptop, MZ-V9E2T0B/AM, Black​

PSU: Seasonic FOCUS GX-650 - 650W - 80+ Gold - Full-Modular - ATX Form Factor - Low Noise - Premium Japanese Capacitor - 10 Year Warranty - Nvidia RTX 30/40 Super & AMD GPU Compatible (Ref. SSR-650FX)​

Case I used: Lian Li Lancool 216 Mid-tower case with high cooling performance - Includes dual front 160MM PWM fans and 1 rear 140MM PWM fan - Airflow focused - Up to 10 fans (LANCOOL 216R-W WHITE)​

 

[rgd1101]

and the gpu is?

 

[geofelt]

The vga light is telling you that the bios can not detect the graphics card.

Does the card need a 6/8 pin power connector?
Is that connector plugged in to the correct psu port?
Are you using the pcie cable, not the eps cable?

Is the 8 pin motherboard power connected. It adds power for the pci slots.

 

[firstevermotherboard]

The vga light is telling you that the bios can not detect the graphics card.

Does the card need a 6/8 pin power connector?
Is that connector plugged in to the correct psu port?
Are you using the pcie cable, not the eps cable?

Is the 8 pin motherboard power connected. It adds power for the pci slots.

Yes to all your questions!

 

[firstevermotherboard]

and the gpu is?

GPU:

ASRock Radeon RX 6600 XT Challenger D OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card​

 

[geofelt]

Your list says a set of 4 for ram.
The part number is a 2 stick set.
Ryzen depends on ram compatibility.
Mixed sets are trouble.
Try using just one kit mounted in the proper slots.
Motherboard manual will tekk you which.

 

[firstevermotherboard]

Your list says a set of 4 for ram.
The part number is a 2 stick set.
Ryzen depends on ram compatibility.
Mixed sets are trouble.
Try using just one kit mounted in the proper slots.
Motherboard manual will tekk you which.

I just bought two of the same 2 stick set. I'll look and see which slots.

 

[geofelt]

That may be your problem.
All ram must be matched in the same kit.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when 4 sticks are involved.

See if you can get a 2 stick kit to work.
If you do, then possibly you can set the ram specs yourself in the bios and increase the ram voltage past the expected 1.35v

Better, yet, return the ram if you can and replace with a 2 x 16gb kit from the motherboard ram qvl list
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B550-TOMAHAWK-MAX-WIFI/support#mem
or from
the G.skil ram selection app for your cpu/mobo.

 

[firstevermotherboard]

That may be your problem.
All ram must be matched in the same kit.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when 4 sticks are involved.

See if you can get a 2 stick kit to work.
If you do, then possibly you can set the ram specs yourself in the bios and increase the ram voltage past the expected 1.35v

Better, yet, return the ram if you can and replace with a 2 x 16gb kit from the motherboard ram qvl list
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B550-TOMAHAWK-MAX-WIFI/support#mem
or from
the G.skil ram selection app for your cpu/mobo.

We put the ram in the right slots and reseated the graphics card too, still no dice.