Graphics card or monitor issue? (n00b needs bigtime help!)

[cheezfri]

It's going to be a long night... I'm stuck. Here's what I bought and plugged in today. The MicroCenter salesman said I could easily assemble it myself and don't need the $80 installation. Yeah right!

i5 3570K
Asrock Z77 Pro4
Gigabyte GTX650
8gb (4x2) Crucial RAM D3 1600
Thermaltake TR600 600W ATX

I was getting 3 long post beeps but reseated the RAM and now no beeps but the monitor goes right into sleep mode. I can't see a BIOS screen or anything. Here's what I've done so far:

Insert CPU into mobo
Place heatsink onto CPU
Plug 4pin cable into mobo
Insert 2 RAM (tried A1 and B1 slots first, then A2 & B2)
Insert GPU into the PCI-E 3.0 x 16 slot
Plug power supply 24pin cable into mobo
Plug 8pin cable from power supply to mobo (ATX 12v1 slot)
Plug 6pin PCI-E cable from power supply to GPU (the same cable also has a 6 plus 2 coming out of it; tried that as well but didn't know where to plug the 2 part)
Plug speaker from case into (4pin) speaker slot on mobo
Plug VGA cable from monitor to GPU
Plug in monitor, turn on
Set PS jumper to 115
Attach power cord to PS and plug in to wall outlet
Turn PS on
Jump the mobo on by touching the power prong thing on mobo with a screwdriver

Unit powers on, GPU fan spins, CPU fan spins, Monitor goes into sleep mode. I've tried switching a couple of cables where I could, changed the RAM slots, etc. Not sure what else to do since I can't even see the BIOS or anything on monitor. I have other parts such as HDD, SSD, case, etc. But I haven't even installed those or the mobo or anything into the case yet. There are a bunch of other cables coming out of the PS. Do I need to plug those in somewhere? Is the monitor shot? It's an older Dell 21" LCD. At least 5-7 years old I guess. The display isn't entirely dead because it does say it's testing and then going into sleep mode.

Thanks for your help!

 

[asdfth12]

Did you ground yourself and put thermal paste on the cpu?

If not, ESD messed something up or you cooked the cpu.

 

[Mapsx15]

This might sound pretty obvious, but it is common, your plugging the display cable into the graphics card not the mobo, right?

 

[Mapsx15]

Otherwise go here, and follow the steps...

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

 

[cheezfri]

IDK what ESD is. I grounded myself. I didn't use thermal paste because the tutorial videos I've seen said not to do it with this kind of CPU. Their heatsinks come with a thermal paste already on them. Also the MicroCenter guy said not to. I asked several times.

I definitely plugged in the monitor to the GPU; not the mobo. I suspect the monitor is somehow screwed up though because it did the same on my old system (Pentium 4). But I thought it was because of a dead HDD or mobo though; not the monitor. I just got back from Walmart where I got a cheap HP LED monitor. So I'll try that. If that doesn't work, I'll try the thread mentioned above. And if THAT doesn't work, I'll go to bed and try again in the morning

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

[Mapsx15]

haha good luck buddy

 

[asdfth12]

You proably got a dead stick of ram.

Try using just one stick at a time.

 

[cheezfri]

OK I have made progress but am stuck again. The CPU, mobo, GPU, DVD drive and SSD are in the case; they turn on when I short the power switch. All the fans & case fans are plugged in too as well as the system speaker. I don't get a POST beep but I get a proper BIOS screen and can make adjustments there. The DVD drive has the Windows 8 DVD. I started to install Windows on the SSD and it went to 59% and said it would need to reboot several times. But on the first reboot, it says no drive have an operating system. So I'm not sure what to do there so I decided to back up and check the link mentioned earlier in this thread. There's a picture there with the 2pin connectors. I have the Reset SW, Power SW and HDLED+-. I don't have the PLED+-. None are plugged in yet. Is it required at this point? I can't quite tell which goes where. Some go up/down and some go left/right maybe? The pins all look like you should plug them in up/down but the pic seems to indicate some left/right. My cables are red/white, orange/white, blue/white. I have an unlabeled green/white but the connector is different; it's like a molex. 4 pins wide but only 2 pins in it. Where does that go? I don't see a 2 or 4 pin place for it.

Thanks again

 

[cheezfri]

Oh and of course the RAM is in the mobo as well. BIOS seems to indicate that it's fine.

 

[cheezfri]

Best answer selected by cheezfri.