[SOLVED] New build won't turn on and can't identify which component is faulty

[TrejoYahir]

Hi! Yesterday I got the parts for my new PC and it's been a nightmare since.

Part list

I just built the PC following the steps of many YouTube videos and carefully reading the manuals, when I was finished everything seemed normal and in the correct place.

But when I booted the PC there was video no output and I got this DRAM LED lighting up in my motherboard indicating there's some error with my RAM (that I know worked perfectly because it is from my previous PC). So I unplug the PC and proceed to try every combination possible with no success, always the same thing: no video output and that LED turned on.

At this point I'm really annoyed and proceed to take everything off the motherboard and the case and rebuild the whole thing. The only thing that I found is that I had forgotten to plug the HD audio cable to the motherboard. When I'm finished rebuilding everything I plug the PC and there's video output and no error LED in the motherboard. It's a miracle! I install Windows and all the drivers for the motherboard and the graphics card, download a couple games and decide to test them. Everything works fine, Resident Evil 2 runs perfectly at 1440p and I'm very happy. When I'm configuring some windows stuff I notice that I have only half of my RAM available (it says something like RAM: 16gb (8gb usable)) so I decide to take turn off the PC and rearrange the RAM, same results. I start to test every combination possible and always the same result, doesn't matter which amount of RAM I use and which ports I always have only half available. Weird but my new PC works, so no big deal. I'll fix it later. Wrong. I turn it on again and play some overwatch, everything running normally and then I close the game. Everything freezes completely. I can't move my mouse or use any keyboard shortcut so I press the restart button on my case. Big mistake. The fans start spinning like crazy and then the PC shuts down, I try to turn it on again but I just got this goddamn LED again and this time rebuilding the whole thing didn't work.

So here's what I've tried so far:

• Putting the RAM sticks in every imaginable combination (same DRAM LED turns on)
• Trying another graphics card (same DRAM LED turns on)
• Testing the RAM on my old system (same RAM on the old PC works fine)
• Rebuilding the whole system, including reseating the CPU (same DRAM LED)
• Rebuilding my old system with the new power supply (this one is interesting, my old PC wouldn't have video output and would just shutdown ~30 seconds after turning it on with the new power supply)

After that last test I was sure the problem was the PSU, so I decided to rebuild the old PC with the old PSU and if everything works fine then I found the problem, but being the moron that I am when I'm finished rebuilding the old PC with the old PSU I connected the power cord of the new PSU to the old one by accident and turned it on, after that the old PSU just died so now I can't use my old PC (dead PSU) or my new PC (the one with the DRAM error LED).

Here's what I've got from my tests:

• RAM sticks are the least likely problem since they worked perfectly on my previous PC, they are listed as compatible (DDR4 2133Mhz) and the PC booted once with those sticks before freezing up and showing the error again after ~2 hours of use.
• Motherboard might be faulty but I find highly unlikely that all RAM slots are dead.
• PSU is suspicious since when connected to the old system (that worked perfectly fine) the old system wouldn't boot.
• I have no idea if the CPU or GPU might be causing the error but I find it unlikely.

So here I am where I started but this time I have no way of confirming the problem (why would a faulty PSU cause a DRAM error indicator to turn on in my motherboard)
If I send back the PSU but it turns out that that wasn't the bad component then it will be too late to return some other item by the time I get back the PSU replacement.
So here I am asking you for help to identify the faulty component from my PC or some advice on what to do to not miss the return period of my components (should I just send everything back?).
Please I'm very desperate and I don't now what else to do.

 

[MeanMachine41]

No mention of Memory test conducted.? Just that they worked in your other PC (incorrect diagnostic)
Download Memtest86 to a USB. Boot from the USB and test each RAM Module individually then test again with all modules. If you have any errors at all then RMA the whole kit.
If RAM test proves OK then you have an issue with the MB or indeed the PSU. To test the PSU you will have to swap out the unit with a known working PSU of same or greater wattage.
Try the above first and report the result.

 

[mdd1963]

standard 60 HZ power plugs are hardly exclusive to any PSU brand, so, barring the worst luck on the planet, perhaps the PSU simply died.

Put in a known good one, and retest...

 

[TrejoYahir]

No mention of Memory test conducted.? Just that they worked in your other PC (incorrect diagnostic)
Download Memtest86 to a USB. Boot from the USB and test each RAM Module individually then test again with all modules. If you have any errors at all then RMA the whole kit.
If RAM test proves OK then you have an issue with the MB or indeed the PSU. To test the PSU you will have to swap out the unit with a known working PSU of same or greater wattage.
Try the above first and report the result.

Thank you for your response!, as of now I don't have any usable PC to conduct the tests since none of my 2 systems wants to boot with the only PSU I have available. The only clue that I have is the DRAM LED. I guess I will ask for a PSU replacement and buy new RAM (the kit that I have is almost 3 years old so no RMA) and if that still doesn't work then the problem is definitely the motherboard.