New Asus Z87 Mobo Dead?

[ejbragg]

Trying to see if I've tried everything, here - if anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it much, thank you... I have already read other threads with people having trouble with the z87 board, but my symptoms are slightly different than what I've read so far.

I just ordered a Haswell system with the following parts, all of which arrived this past Thursday:

• 
  i7-4770K CPU
  Asus Z87 Plus Mobo (needed 1 legacy PCI slot)
  32 GB Trident F3-2400C10Q-32GTX RAM
  Seasonic X Series 850W PSU
  Kingston 120GB SV300 SSD (connected)
  3 1-TB Seagate Barracuda drives (none are connected)
  Plextor PX-891 SAW DVD Burner (connected)
  Noctua NH-14 CPU Cooler (not connected now-using Intel's cooler while troubleshooting)
  Case fans, kbd, mouse, monitor; nothing else connected.

Symptoms:
Press power...

• 
  Front lights come on
  Fans power up
  CPU light comes on solid
  Does not post

When I try the following adjustments, nothing changes:

• 
  Changed out power supply and/or cables
  Cleared RTC RAM w/ jumper switch
  Cleared CMOS (remove battery w/ power off for 30 minutes)
  Removed all connections except for CPU fan & two board supply cables
  Removed all memory but 1 stick
  Changed out that one stick
  Removed mobo from case and retried on table top

When I press the MemOK! button, the computer starts up, the DRAM LED flashes, the computer restarts, then the CPU light comes back on and once again, nothing happens. I have never yet seen a post with this system. I have inspected the chip and it looks fine, of course. I checked the socket, and all looks fine, as far as my eyes can see w/ strong reading glasses (somewhat magnified). Guess that statement isn't necessarily worth much.

One more note: The mobo was on newegg's list as "open box". But I assumed the company would have tested the board out before sending it out again.

2 Questions:

Have I tried everything?
If so, does it sound like the board, or the chip?

 

[Tradesman1]

Never assume - guessing it's dead, the Egg doesn't have any actual 'capable' techs that I know of and being e-tail, seriously doubt they would bother taking the time to pop in a CPU, put a cooler on it and fire it up....might wan to try benching it, have a guide that might help here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1753671/bench-troubleshooting.html

 

[ejbragg]

Thanks, Tradesman1. Went through your guide, I pretty much followed it, in a loose sense. So you think it's the board, or the chip? (The chicken, or the egg?)

 

[Tradesman1]

Open Box, I'd guess the mobo, they aren't often returned unless there is a problem with them, not when you have to pay restock fees, postage, etc unless there's a problem....if it was a refurb...maybe....I've had others (clients) and two myself (tears ago) that ordered OB mobos and the bulk have been either just DOA or had things like ports that didn't work, bad DRAM slots, bent pins in the socket, etc........actually with OB purchases it's not a bad idea to record opening the box and examination, etc

 

[weilin]

One thing to try is to remove the RAM completely and try to power it up. You should hear an RAM error Beep code. If you don't... time to RMA the board. If you do, try booting the board, CPU and integrated graphics. Good Luck!

 

[ejbragg]

Ok, as you suggested, I removed the RAM. When I powered it up the first time, the DRAM light came on for a few seconds, apparently doing a self test. The computer automatically rebooted, and the CPU light immediately came on. No DRAM light, no beeps (ever). All following reboots continued to light the CPU light only. I don't think the board ever produced a beep. (Not claiming I connected the front panel speaker correctly.)

One thing I DID find, when attempting to take close-ups of the socket and chip for my records... A human hair laying across the bed of the socket from one corner to the center, about 1.5 inches long! It wasn't mine, either. (The longest hair on my head is about 1/2 inch.) I suppose this could have caused the problem; however, now that it's been removed, there is still no success, as the symptoms remain unchanged. I think I'm going to RMA both chip and board, just to be safe! Will post the pic tonight.

 

[Tradesman1]

Keep us updated on how things go, will be looking for U

 

[ejbragg]

Here are the pics of what I found. I took two shots - one from the hinged side; the other from the opposite end of the socket.
www.FountainSquareHouse.com/Haswell/IMG_0862.JPG
www.FountainSquareHouse.com/Haswell/IMG_0863.JPG

 

[Tradesman1]

Yep looks like you can see the hair, not a good thing

 

[ejbragg]

Since I have RAM'd both board and chip (to be safe), any further problems will not likely be related. I'm going ahead and choosing a solution & bowing out of this thread. Will revive the memory installation follow-up when the new parts arrive & are installed.

 

[Tradesman1]

Will be around, if you need help feel free to PM

 

[ejbragg]

Thanks, will do.
New motherboard's already in and installed. (Upgraded to the Z97-A.) May be a bit before the chip comes back.

 

[Tradesman1]

Will be checking in

 

[ejbragg]

New chip arrived and installed. Working fine. For further progress, go to:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2151402/skill-trident-2400-asus-z87-mobo.html#13449480

 

[Tradesman1]

Just left there Will C U around