[SOLVED] Newly built system - No post, no display, three beeps

[bakana42]

I'm troubleshooting a newly-built system that is not generating any video output. I've gotten a bit further than my previous post, which noted that there was no video, and that the POST LED on my motherboard seemed to indicate that the issue was with the video.

I've hooked up a speaker to the mobo so it can generate post beep notifications. After unhooking everything but the power, and CPU, I get three short beeps.

I then try inserting the RAM and booting, and still get the same result - no image, and three short beeps. I've tried both sticks of RAM (by themselves) in all four slots on the mobo, and get the same result.

So there seems to be a problem with the memory. But the fact that BOTH sticks, when used alone, cause the error, makes me wonder if the problem is with the mobo, rather than with the memory. I'm curious what the more experienced folks here think I should try next. Should exchange the memory, and see if that fixes it, or is that a waste of time, and I need to exchange the mobo? Or should I exchange both the mobo and the memory and just start anew with both?

The specs are:
Mobo: ASRock H470 Phantom Gaming 4
CPU: Intel Core i5-10600K
GPU: Sapphire Radeon Nitro+ RX 590 8GB GDDR5
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz DDR4 DRAM (2 8GB sticks)
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V

 

[Lutfij]

I would suggest working your way one by one. If you have a friend or neighbor who owns any DDR4 ram kit or even a single stick, see if that allows you to get to POST with the bare minimum, without a discrete GPU. The problem can also be your motherboard if the BIOS was corrupt out of the box(from the factory).

If the seller accepts changing both out, then that'd be a plus for you but I think you're better off ruling things out one by one to give you peace of mind, that you've tried everything and you knew where the issue was.

 

[bakana42]

I would suggest working your way one by one. If you have a friend or neighbor who owns any DDR4 ram kit or even a single stick, see if that allows you to get to POST with the bare minimum, without a discrete GPU. The problem can also be your motherboard if the BIOS was corrupt out of the box(from the factory).

Thanks for the advice! Luckily the vendor I got the RAM for is sending the replacement right now, even before I have to send back my RAM, so I can test both old and new and either solve the problem or eliminate the RAM as the culprit.

If need be, next step will be returning and replacing the motherboard; and then, if need be, the processor. I just need to be patient and systematic, I suppose.