I need advice badly

[Azi]

I'm building a computer for the first time and think I've screwed up. After putting everything together I tried to power on and have a vague memory of seeing something happen but then nothing, don't go by that though I really am not sure if I saw it or not. Anyway, I found out that my motherboard needs a 500W power supply and I used a 430W power supply, also the ATX12V connector is only 4 or 6 pin when the motherboard only has a slot for 8 pins (and a real mistake I made was trying to power on with 6 pins in the 8 pin slot), but I know for a fact that at that point I saw nothing happen when I did that, the first time I tried to power on I didn't use the ATX12V.

The other thing I did wrong was not know at the beginning that the motherboard had to be spaced from the bottom of the case so I screwed it right onto the case.

So...

Either everything is fine and I just need a PSU that meets the requirements

Or

I fried the motherboard

First thing I need to know is if anyone knows which it probably is. And then, if the motherboard is fried...

Is the CPU safe?
Is the RAM safe?
Is the video card safe?
Is there anything else at all that could be fried like the power supply itself or my fans?

And probably a dumb question but is there any way to return anything that's been fried...? I bought everything from newegg by the way.

Also if it is fried, I need to save as much money as possible buying more parts... should I downgrade motherboards so it works with the PSU I already have?

This is everything that I bought:

Motherboard -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128346

Processor -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

RAM -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197

Video Card -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143119

Hard Drive -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100

Power Supply -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006

Case -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133132

Plus 2 CD drives that I already had. The first time I powered on my computer the hard drive, sound card, and network card were the only thing NOT plugged in as far as I can recall. The hard drive was plugged in at some point later when I tried to power on, and the sound and network card never.

Sorry this is a lot but thanks in advance I could really use any good advice... I basically need to know what I should do to cause me the least problems and waste the least amount of money and get myself a working computer.

 

[Aurora18]

are you certain you have the power switch pin in the correct place

you could always take it apart and try again only go slower to make absolutely sure everything is correct

 

[ausch30]

No one can tell you if you fried something but it is a possibility. The best thing to do at this point would be to remove everything from the case, put the motherboard on something like the anti-static bag it came in, and connect the power button leads, 1 stick of RAM, the CPU & heatsink, the video card if your board doesn't have onboard video, and the 24 pin and 4 pin ATX connectors. Do that and see if any lights on the board turn on when you turn the power on to your PSU and/or plug it in to the wall. Hit the power button and see if the CPU fan spins.

There is no 6 pin ATX connector. The only 6 pin connector coming out of a PSU is the PCI-E connector so if you plugged that into your 8 pin socket on your motherboard you will have problems. The 8 pin socket is keyed to allow either a 4 pin or 8 pin connector, either will work fine but you have to be sure you used the correct power line out of your PSU.

Read these:
http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

http://www.buildyourowncomputer.net/learntobuild.html

 

[Azi]

Is that one of the 3 pin slot connector that goes above the Fpanel? Or are you talking about something else, if so I think so but I can't be sure, if it was would that have saved my motherboard from ever getting fried?

 

[ausch30]

Read the 2 links I posted above, especially the first one

 

[Aurora18]

your m.board may be fine if its look for some directions on where to place the power pin inside of the box that came with the m.board

 

[Azi]

Yes I plugged the 6 pin one in, but I still have no idea if power ever even went to my motherboard. At the moment I don't have a PSU that I can test with.

 

[ausch30]

Go through the steps I listed above and see what happens. Read the links I gave you and be sure you are using the correct cables.

Does your PSU have a switch on the back? If so did you switch it on?

 

[englandr753]

I suggest you start over and make sure everything is connected correctly. Use this as a guide:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1444

Setp by step guide will take the guess work out of it for you...

 

[Azi]

Go through the steps I listed above and see what happens. Read the links I gave you and be sure you are using the correct cables.

Does your PSU have a switch on the back? If so did you switch it on?

Sorry I misread before, i'll do that now. and yeah I had it on.

 

[Azi]

The LEDs did turn on! Does this mean I only need a need a new power supply?

 

[Azi]

I pressed the power button and there were some sounds and the CPU fan started working then it stopped and started every few seconds, and when I put the video card in there was loud beeping. Normal?

 

[ausch30]

when I put the video card in there was loud beeping. Normal?

When you installed the video card did you connect the 6 pin PCI-E connector? If not, that was the reason for the loud beeping.

Sounds good so far, I would suggest INSTALLING THE MOTHERBOARD RISERS into the case and installing everything you just did but also connect the monitor and see if you get anything on the screen.

 

[Azi]

Ahha! I did not see that the video card needed that plug, that got it working and I have display, no beeping. So now just need a PSU that has the wattage for everything?

 

[ausch30]

It sounds like you dodged a bullet and everything should be fine. That Earthwatts PSU you have is a quality unit so I would install everything (correctly) and it should be powerful enough for your system. If you find your system shutting down under load then you will want to buy a more powerful PSU.

 

[Azi]

Wow! Thanks so much man, until now I was feeling miserable (of course i'm not done yet), I was prepared to wait weeks sending back parts and waiting for new parts and accept that I lost tons of money. Thanks again.

 

[geofelt]

The psu you have is a good one, and should power your system ok.

1) Install the motherboard risers! without them the motherboard will short circuit.
2) Look at the back of the motherboard to be certain that all 4 pushpins of the cooler are all the way through and locked. If even one is not tight, the cooler will not work as it should, and your cpu will overheat and slow down or shut off.

 

[ausch30]

Glad to help. I know how exciting it is to finally get all your parts in the mail, just remember to go slowly and do your research next time before hooking everything up, otherwise you might end up with an expensive pile of useless parts. Good luck.

 

[Azi]

Oh I spent like 7 hours yesterday and more today reading all the manuals and trying to get it all just right, some things just ended up slipping by. Gotta make mistakes to get better I suppose, at least they weren't as dire of mistakes as I thought. =)

 

[Azi]

I've got everything in the case now, every piece I need is installed except sound card and network cards (because i'm getting new ones). The motherboard gets power and when I turn it on all 6 of the fans spin including the video card fan leds all work but then after a few seconds it turns off and turns back on. Is it a PSU problem now or is there something i'm doing wrong?

 

[megamanx00]

Considering your motherboard it probably would have made more sense to go for a Radeon 4850 so that you could crossfire it. Anyway that PSU should have been fine for that system. If you look at your power supply there is a 4 pin power connector, which is what you should have plugged into the 8 pin connector on your motherboard. The 6 pin connectors are PCI-E connectors. Needless to say trying to plug those into your motherboard could have the adverse effect of killing it ^_^. Re check all of your connections. Make sure you plug that 4 pin connector into the 8 pin slot on your motherboard. Make sure the 20+4 pin power supply connector is properly inserted into the board. Also make sure that your PC speaker is connected so you can listen for beep codes. If you don't get a beep code, try using another power supply and try using that power supply in another system to see if you burned out your PSU or your motherboard.