Help! New Build Won't Post. PSU problem?

[aaaaayum]

So I plugged everything in and made the necessary connections. When I turned on the PSU and pressed the on button, everything flickered for about a second before everything was shut down again. The only way to reproduce this was to unplug the PSU and plug it back in again. What is the problem?

My System
Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V
POWERCOLOR AX4830 512MD3-H Radeon HD 4830
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I'd start off by going through this checklist:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-build-post-checklist

 

[xthekidx]

If nothing in that checklist works, then you have a DOA PSU. RMA it.

 

[jsc]

Probably the PSU, but try this before you RMA anything:
Try the following for some troubleshooting ideas:

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.

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. 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 get this far.

If you successfully POST, start plugging in the rest of the components, one at a time.

 

[neurodx1]

If something was shorting out the PSU, wouldn't all LEDs and system fans not work?

 

[aaaaayum]

So I bought a new PSU and it turns out that the problem was due to the PSU. The one Newegg sent me was DOA >.<