Month-old Desktop Conked Out, troubleshooting advice appreciated!

[cegasaturn]

Update: Sent my MoBo for RMA, was told it works fine. So that's not the source of the problem.


Hey all,

My mini-ITX build has decided to break on me, and I figured I'd check here for advice!
I went through the troubleshooting sticky, and still need some advice!
The build first ran January 23, 2015. It had no issues until today (February 24, 2015).

On February 21, I updated the motherboard's BIOS. I used the built-in utility to do so, and was able to successfully boot without issue after the installation.

Today, I woke it up from standby, and it stopped working. Specifically:
- the CPU and GPU fans spin up
- my USB keyboard has all three lock lights turned on
- both monitors receive no signal from the GPU
- Pressing/holding the case Power and Reset buttons has no effect

I first tried turning off the PSU, and leaving it unplugged for a while. When I turned on the system, it returned to the state described above.

I also tried to clear the CMOS, pulling the internal battery out for an hour before resetting. The system behaved as described before.

I do not have a case speaker installed, so my troubleshooting is relatively limited without taking everything out of the case and breadboxing. I do have a Standby Power LED and DRAM LED. The Standby Power LED is on, and the DRAM LED is off, so not much to learn from that.

My question to all of you is would you recommend I try anything before taking it apart and breadboxing it? It's a Mini-ITX, and was a bit of a pain to put together, so if I can avoid doing so I'd be quite happy.


Below is a list of build components. I am running Windows 7 Professional, if that is relevant.

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CL-P001-AL12RE-A 71.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan
Other: WD Caviar Black 640GB HDD

Thank you all for your help, and apologies if I missed something in the Stickies I should have followed.

 

[Bossyfins]

So the PC fans snd simlar stuff turns on, but the GPU output is dead? Have you tried the onboard GPU?

 

[cegasaturn]

That is correct. I have tried:
- Reseating the RAM and GPU
- Video output from MoBo when GPU plugged in
- Video output from MoBo when GPU not plugged in

There is no change when switching between these.
There is no video output, but fans spin up and LED on MoBo turns on.


I tried using the "Asus Crashfree BIOS 3" (insert a USB drive with an older BIOS into a certain USB slot), but no indication that it registered it.

 

[Bossyfins]

Well if there is no on-board video, then it is probably the mobo, or CPU

 

[cegasaturn]

Well if there is no on-board video, then it is probably the mobo, or CPU

I'm guessing it's the mobo (which is admittedly better than the CPU). I'll try and call Asus tomorrow and see what they say.

Edit: Looks like I've got a 1-year replacement policy with Directron, so I might do that. Anything else people would recommend trying before I go for the nuclear option?

 

[cegasaturn]

Update, got a call from Directron. Motherboard works fine in their testing. So that leaves the PSU or CPU.

 

[Bossyfins]

Most case scenario is the CPU. The SeaSonic PSUs are really reliable. Do you still have their limited warranty?

 

[cegasaturn]

Most case scenario is the CPU. The SeaSonic PSUs are really reliable. Do you still have their limited warranty?

Are you referring to the SeaSonic or Intel?
If you mean the CPU, I can no longer return it to TigerDirect (they allow defective returns within 30 days of purchase).
However, it seems like it's covered by Intel. How's their RMA process?

 

[Bossyfins]

Intel. I wouldn't know how their RMA process is as I have yet to have a bad CPU. Try contacting Intel Support