Question New PC, self built, lights on mobo, wont power on. Thoughts?

[Sharkonabicycle]

Hello all, new to the forum so hopefully posting in the right spot. I built my own PC earlier last week but having a weird problem (I've built a few PCs before that worked fine, so not a complete newbie to this).

Specs:
EVGA 1000watt PSU (new)
ASUS X570 E Gaming Mobo
32 GB Compatible G Skill Trident RAM (checked mobo manual for the serial # etc.)
Ryzen 9 5900x
EVGA Liquid cooler, installed the AM4 pins.
Samsung 980 PRO M2 and 970 M2 (mobo has 2 M2 slots).
GPU - going to be a 3090 RTX but was just testing initially with a 970 GTX (seems to not be the culprit though per below)

I built the system with the above components, made sure to use the standoffs and line them up. Processor went in nice and easy, no forcing it. Before I closed up the case and put any video card in I wanted to try booting to make sure fans came on the and the mobo booted. I flipped the power switch on the PSU and saw the mobo RGB lights come on and if I unplug the 8 pin CPU connector the red light comes on, so I know the mobo has power.

Initially, I tried booting it by pressing the power button on the case and nothing. I tried jump starting the mobo (to eliminate a wiring issue with the case) and nothing. Checked all cables and everything was fine. So I tried reseating the CMOS battery, pressed the power button on the case, and wa-laa! Computer booted, all fans spinning, mobo showing read out codes which is fine given everything is not hooked up. Okay I thought, I've had the CMOS battery be an issue before.

So I plugged in the above GPU so I could hook it up to a display and tried booting again using the power button. Nothing. Power button ceased to work again. So I removed the GPU and tried booting. Nothing. I took off the mobo, the heatsink... re-seated the processor/heatsink, plugged back in all the cables from the PSU, left only one stick of RAM in... re-mounted the motherboard and made sure all the stand off pins were correct and screwed in properly... Even re-seated the CMOS battery a few times.

Tried again, nothing. My only thought is to take off the cooler again and double check that no pins are bent, but that doesn't explain why it booted up fine until I put on the video card. Thinking it may be a DOA mobo but it's weird that it booted up then suddenly stopped again. I'm at a point where I can't even get the case/PSU or liquid cooler running (previously the problem, and they are of course plugged in to the right spot as they were working previously).

I guess my next step is to check the pins (no magnifying glass but can take a picture on my phone and zoom in). If that seems fine, I guess my last resort is run to MicroCenter so they can test the individual components (I don't have spare parts) and eliminate the issue, but I figured I'd post here for thoughts before I go that route.

Thanks,

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Alright update, I tried flashing the BIOS (that mobo has a USB reset on the back) and updated the latest firmware and now everything is coming on, going to plug in the video card and see what happens... been here before (after plugging in the GPU it stopped booting).

Edit: Booted up with the GPU.... all fans spinning... now time to hook it up to the monitor. No red lights on mobo (actually went to white then green so I assume we're getting somewhere). The case (Thermaltake 71 RGB) is eerily quiet.

Will give an update a bit later. Second time a <Mod Edit> BIOS update has <Mod Edit> me in a recent build. Last time 4 sticks of RAM would not work (computer wouldn't post) until a BIOS update.

 

[itsallpoo]

Welcome to the wonderful world of building your own pc. Word of advice pick a brand(s) of hardware, especially motherboard and stick with that (my fav is gigabyte) you will find they all have their own personalities and things they're picky about...you will learn instinctively what not to mix after a few builds (especially ram brands). I've built probably fifty-100 machines since the late 80's and I can't tell you how many dead or marginal cmos batteries have arrived on brand new motherboards. Keep a supply of fresh cmos batteries handy (I've had a few builds that dead battery was preventing the boot) I just toss the one in the box and pop in a new one to be sure. A can of CRC is also a good thing for your kit. The second most annoying thing that happens to me is that screw that you dropped in the bottom of the case that managed to get itself someplace it was shorting something, so pick up the case and rock it around a little to see if anything rattles. Cards not fully plugged into the socket is probably my third most annoying thing that happens in a build for whatever reason the bracket on the card is interfering with the contacts on the bottom fully contacting the socket. I think I had exactly one problem with an outdated bios on a build which is a good reason to keep some old hardware around (like a lesser cpu and video card) in case you run into that so you can boot with the old stuff and accomplish the bios update. You will slowly find hardware brands that you never have problems with and resolve yourself to buying those when possible because you know it won't pull your tail when you put it together. Good luck.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Welcome to the wonderful world of building your own pc. Word of advice pick a brand(s) of hardware, especially motherboard and stick with that (my fav is gigabyte) you will find they all have their own personalities and things they're picky about...you will learn instinctively what not to mix after a few builds (especially ram brands). I've built probably fifty-100 machines since the late 80's and I can't tell you how many dead or marginal cmos batteries have arrived on brand new motherboards. Keep a supply of fresh cmos batteries handy (I've had a few builds that dead battery was preventing the boot) I just toss the one in the box and pop in a new one to be sure. A can of CRC is also a good thing for your kit. The second most annoying thing that happens to me is that screw that you dropped in the bottom of the case that managed to get itself someplace it was shorting something, so pick up the case and rock it around a little to see if anything rattles. Cards not fully plugged into the socket is probably my third most annoying thing that happens in a build for whatever reason the bracket on the card is interfering with the contacts on the bottom fully contacting the socket. I think I had exactly one problem with an outdated bios on a build which is a good reason to keep some old hardware around (like a lesser cpu and video card) in case you run into that so you can boot with the old stuff and accomplish the bios update. You will slowly find hardware brands that you never have problems with and resolve yourself to buying those when possible because you know it won't pull your tail when you put it together. Good luck.

Thanks.

Turns out the fix was flashing the BIOS with the latest firmware. Downloaded the BIOS firmware on a USB, plugged into the USB on back designated for it, the hard drive and light was clearly working so I knew the motherboard had power. Never had to do a BIOS update before to simply boot the computer with minimal parts, which is probably why that motherboard has the separate USB/update feature on it to begin with.

Anyway, once that finished, unplugged the USB and plugged everything back in (except all 4 sticks of RAM, still need to do that) including the GPU and got to the BIOS just fine.

BIOS picks up both M2s, correctly identifies the 5900x and the 8gb stick of RAM I have in. So now onto the boot process and throw in Windows.

38 degrees or so in the BIOS for the 5900x at the default liquid cooling speed, so I assume that's okay.

Guess I solved my own issue (at least for now, still have to install Windows and get fully up and running), but I should've known to update the BIOS first... my last MSI build required a BIOS update to successfully boot with 4 sticks of RAM (but at least still booted with 1-3 sticks of RAM)