Help! New motherboard / CPU not posting

D

daws0n

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
111
Been pulling my hair out for the last 4 hours trying to get this new setup working....

I bought a Gigabyte MA790X-UDP4 motherboard (b-grade) and an AMD phenom 720 tri-core black edition. Installed them in the case with no problems but I cannot get it to post! There is no bleeper, keyboard or VGA signal, though all fans and drives etc... are powering up fine and appear operational.

I am at a loss here... The RAM (2x2gb kingson DDR3 1333 matched pair) is brand new so it could be that? I have tried one chip at a time and have reseated the CPU / fan aswell. The internal bleeper is not even sounding when there is no VGA or ram install. I assume the board is DOA, but I need to make sure before I return it. Since it is B-grade it was a return but I was assured on the phone it was tested and working. Any ideas guys?

The only message I appear to be getting from anything is 4 consecutive blinks on the HD access light. These flashes also appear at the same time on a light on my graphics card PCB. Does that mean anything to you?

If it's not dead, the only thing I can think is that the CPU is not supported by the board without a BIOS flash. If that is the case though, surely it would POST anyway but run it at an incorrect speed?

What a stressful day it's been! If you have any ideas i'd love to hear them.

Dawson
 
Take it out of the case and boot it on a phone book or other non-conductive surface. Try onlt the VC and 1 stick of ram. Double check all power connections.

Please list your power supply.

Did you plug in your video card?
 
Power supply is a 600w Seasonic ST12. Dual 12v rails @ 18 amps so it should provide the juice.

I have bought a Gainward GS GTX 260, which is the original card I tried booting with. I have since swapped it for my Radeon HD-4850. Same issue with or without graphics card.

I have spoke to OCUK and the only thing they can suggest is the BIOS update. Surely though the motherboard would post downclocked or give some kind of error via the bleeper if this was the case?
 
I rang their tech support line and they insist it was tested and working, personally I have my doubts on that. When I mentioned possible BIOS compatibility (i.e CPU may not be supported in release bios) he said that was most likely the case. If it is, they will boot with a different CPU and flash it free of charge.

Since my post I have tried running the board/CPU/memory out of the case on a paper book to alleviate any grounding issues. Reset the CMOS and tried each stick of RAM individually in slots 1/2. Still no joy so I've re-assembled my 939 rig for the time being. If it does turn out to be a faulty board I am seriously peeved at said company and won't be buying from them again!
 
Edit: Scratch that, it's actually a GA-MA790XT-UD4P which indeed does support DDR3!! It's been a long day, I am going to call it a night on this one.
 
In case I suffered a moment of madness Saturday, I've spent the last hour assembling the board on my workspace again... This time, with a different PSU (Antec Powerpac 400w) and an older HD-3850 PCI-E card hooked up to an old CRT monitor. I've also dismantled an old case and gutted the lights, front power/reset buttons and speaker out - this will actually come in well handy for trouble shooting parts outside of the case :)

Anyways, did the usual swapping memory sticks/slots, replaced CMOS battery etc... Not a peek out of the board, I am 99% sure it's dead. If it *is* an issue of CPU compatibility I'll be pretty shocked by that. So, an RMA it is - I'm never buying B-grade again!
 
IT'S ALIVE!!!

(but, only when both RAM sticks are removed)

If I boot without the RAM installed, I get a continuous pulse of beeps. Perhaps the RAM is at fault after all?

If I return the board now, I am running risk of a £35 fee to get it back if it tests as OK... But, I order more RAM by the time it gets here my 14 day warranty on the board will of run out! Decisions decisions....!

Given the above findings, would you say it's worth trying some different sticks?
 
Anyone? I know RAM/motherboards don't always play nice together, but I've never seen a board "disabled" by a RAM stick in this way... I still think it's a faulty board, but I'm not 100% on it.

I chose Kingston value ram over high performance because it ran at the JDEC 1.5v standard. Seemed like the most compatible / safe choice to me. Here's the details -

* Product Description: Kingston ValueRAM memory - 4 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3
* Storage Capacity: 4GB (2x2GB)
* Upgrade Type: Generic
* Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
* Form Factor: DIMM 240-pin
* Memory Speed: 1333 MHz ( PC3-10600 )
* Data Integrity Check: Non-ECC
* Latency Timings: CL9
* Features: Unbuffered
* Supply Voltage: 1.5 V
* Lead Plating: Gold
* Manufacturer Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty

On paper it looks like a good match, shouldn't be any problems AFAIK. I'd like a 2nd opinion before RMA'ing the board, but after speaking to about 15 PC shops not one has any DDR3 ram in stock!
 
No one I know has any DDR3 in their PCs... I am tempted to buy another stick, would about the same as postage to send it back.
 
Hmmm... I checked the memory manual PDF on gigabyte's website for this mainboard, and it's been tested and rated for use with various Kingston Value modules. While not tested with this particular model, the Elpida component chips used in it have been verified OK in other maker's modules. Looks like very slim odds it's the memory compatibility after all.
 
well, it's either the board or the memory. Run memtest86 to make sure it's not the memory. It could be bad memory, not taking compatibility issues into mind here.

ETA: I'm guessing you're gonna have to find a running computer to do it, lol. (that supports DDR3)
 
I had the same problem too OP with my MSI 785G motherboard.

I try to use 4x1GB Reapers DDR3-1333 1.7V sticks. My motherboard would not POST at all with even one memory stick install. I RMA my motherboard without thinking about my memory and it took 2 weeks to get back to me. Same issue as before till I remove all the memory sticks and I got the crazy beeps too. So I assume there was something wrong with my memory.

After another week and and half of waiting my OCZ Reapers came back from RMA. But I still had booting problems. Luckly I bought 2x1GB Corsair DDR3-1600 that arrived the same day and my PC booted up! Perhaps there is something common with your Kingston and my OCZ Reapers that just doesn't like AMD boards. For now I sold off my OCZ Reapers and bought two sets of 2x2GB Crucial DDR3-1333. Hope they work out fine.
 
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