No beep during POST (new CPU/mobo/ram)

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Sep 3, 2017
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Hi, I decided to upgrade to an i5 from an old Core2Duo, along with the necessary acquirement of new motherboard and DDR4 ram.

Specs
CPU: i5 7600k
Motherboard: Asus Z170M-Plus
DIMM: 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @ 2660 MHz
PSU: Corsair RM750x
Cooler: Cooler Master TX3 Evo

Right now I've breadboarded the system. With just CPU, cooler and motherboard I get 1 long beep and 2 short. System keeps itself on and fans run. I've read that the beeps mean missing RAM in ASUS mobos. So I've inserted the RAM (in various configurations) and that leads, again, to fans starting and system remaining on, but no beep is heard and there is no signal from computer or light on the wired keyboard. But: first time running with the RAM the system resets after a few seconds before powering up again. After that it doesn't restart, unless if I reset CMOS where it goes through that process once again.

Questions: Can I assume CPU/mobo works since POST w/o RAM signals that RAM is missing instead of CPU problem? Or do you think that there might be faulty DIMM slots or similar? Thanks in advance
 
Aux 4 pin power connector plugged into motherboard?

Build system outside of case on a table to see if problem still exists?

RAM on QVL from vendor?
 
Yep the 12V 4-pin is securely connected. Tried reassembling and reseating everything including CPU outside the system.

Can't find QVL for DDR4 with ASUS. No good list of beep codes either. :-/
 
If no single stick works then not much left but CPU and motherboard. And PSU.....

Got a spare PSU? I would have to go with a faulty motherboard more than likely since CPU's are rarely bad out of the box compared to motherboards.
 
That's what I feared, unless something with the RAM is incompatible. PSU works fine in other system btw.

Intel does not list 2666 MHz compatibility with i5 7600k, yet I know others use even higher RAM clock speeds. But perhaps they OC lower clocked compatible memory while enabling something in BIOS, which I can't reach because my memory modules are already overclocked? I mean, maybe my memory only works for this config when I've changed some setting?
 
Thanks, can't believe I missed it! It seems that the memory is ASUS compatible. There's maybe the possibility that for it to work with i5 7600k some setting needs to be done. What do you think? Otherwise I'll just have to get another mobo..,
 
Did you bend any pins on the cpu socket? I've seen that cause odd post issues before. Even one pin being off just slightly... They're super sensitive.

Id find it more likely to be a board issue than both dimms being bad out of box.
 
RAM should work at a lower speed for compatibility reasons until you go in and change them.

Check your CPU and cooler mounting and pins, pull battery out and reset BIOS and give it one more go.

Then RMA that board.
 
It may or may not be related but I seem to recall having a similar sort of problem with an old AMD XP2500. Machine would post once and then fail to either post or boot (forget which) after that point without resetting the CMOS. I believe the culprit was that the bios was defaulting to giving the memory too much voltage for its slower timings, or too little voltage for its faster timings. On that board and i had to manually specify its voltage to get it to run. The first post after a CMOS clear would be in compatibility mode i believe, but then after that the bios would automatically change the ram settings to SPD/Auto or something like that and would fail to boot and or not post-beep at all.

If you can get into the bios on your first clear of the CMOS, try manually fiddling with the ram settings rather than leaving them on auto, see if that helps. (Wasnt quite clear as to whether or not you could access the bios at all, but thought I'd suggest that just in case it might be useful.)

Might not hurt to try a different power supply if you've got one handy too. Dont know how often modern PSU's go bad but had an issue with an old PSU and a an ATI 9500 videocard back in the day which would cause the system to fail to post or make noise at all except for maybe 1 out of every 100 resets. After replacing i ripped that old PSU apart and saw that its capacitors had all gone bad.. was surprised the thing worked at all after seeing how rough of shape the PSU was in. With the previous videocard (Voodoo 5 5500) in it'd still post every time though.
 
I don't know if you have a friend or family member that has newer motherboard with Z270 that would support the 7600K. If you do have a friend, family or coworker that has Z270, I would try using your CPU on their board. Or if they have a 6x00 series CPU they could try on your motherboard, to see if it is truly your CPU.

Do you know what BIOS version is on your motherboard, but you may have issue with CPU working if it doesn't have proper BIOS to support the 7600K. I'm not sure where you bought your motherboard from or if there is a local computer store nearby that you could buy a Z270 motherboard and try that to see if it works.

At work, we would have to put older CPU types into some Dell server chassis and flash the BIOS before the newer CPUs would work and give us video output.
 
Your CPU probably doesn't work with the Z170 Motherboard. 7 Series Intel CPU's are most commonly used with the Z270's, so their could be incompatibility issues there. No beeps means the CPU is not recognized. Your RAM is fine. Try updating the Bios to the latest version.
 
Thanks a lot! I just looked at the socket and assumed compatibility. My rig is so old I've started to forget the basics. :-/

I don't know anyone into computers, so I guess my options are to buy a Z270 / B250 or ask some computer repair store to update my BIOS. Both options require another remounting of CPU+cooler.
 
Having a hard time finding Z270 mobos in my price range with support for my 2666 MHz memory. Is it safe to assume that a motherboard only compatible with ram up to 2400 MHz will just downclock my memory, and that compatibility just refers to how fast the RAM can run, rather than which RAM will run?
 
Having a hard time finding Z270 mobos in my price range with support for my 2666 MHz memory. Is it safe to assume that a motherboard only compatible with ram up to 2400 MHz will just downclock my memory, and that compatibility just refers to how fast the RAM can run, rather than which RAM will run?
Yes.

But, there is a good chance you can get it to run faster anyway.
 
Thanks a lot! I just looked at the socket and assumed compatibility. My rig is so old I've started to forget the basics. :-/

I don't know anyone into computers, so I guess my options are to buy a Z270 / B250 or ask some computer repair store to update my BIOS. Both options require another remounting of CPU+cooler.

Have you covered. You can buy a BIOS chip from BIOSdepot on Ebay. I've ordered from them before for my Z68 Motherboard. They come with the latest bios as stated on their sales information.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIOS-Chip-A...128567?hash=item58d0bc60f7:g:mCoAAOSwnipWXh6b

That way, you don't have to buy another motherboard. Do check and see if the latest BIOS for your motherboard will support the 7600K though before you order it. Also, if you don't have one already, be sure to buy a "Bios chip extractor". Its a special tool that removes the chip, works like tweezers.


Asus CPU Compatibility page, Search for 7600K its on there, BIOS 3017
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/
 
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Thanks for the heads-up Krenum. I see now that ASUS says nothing about 7th gen compatibility, only 6th. So I guess a new board is unavoidable. Lesson learned the hard way. :)

Not looking forward to reseating the heatsink. That push-pin moment is horrible when you realize one-at-a-time is the only way. Can CPU's get damaged from the uneven heatsink pressure or does the casing protect from that?
 
Thanks for the heads-up Krenum. I see now that ASUS says nothing about 7th gen compatibility, only 6th. So I guess a new board is unavoidable. Lesson learned the hard way. :)

Not looking forward to reseating the heatsink. That push-pin moment is horrible when you realize one-at-a-time is the only way. Can CPU's get damaged from the uneven heatsink pressure or does the casing protect from that?

According to Asus's website CPU Compatibility list it supports the 7600K since 3017
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/
 
Can CPU's get damaged from the uneven heatsink pressure or does the casing protect from that?

Not now days, especially with Intel's locking mechanism, once its locked in you would have to put an exorbitant amount of pressure to break it. Also, the Screws for most heatsinks will only tighten so far. Remember to tighten in a criss cross pattern.

I think you should get the BIOS chip, Its only $16 bucks and should solve your problem. Better than paying $100 plus dollars on something that you know already works.
 
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Since the alternative is to discard the motherboard, you're right, I should try to switch BIOS first. If I somehow mess that up, I can start thinking about mobo replacement.
 
I found a Z270 ATX mobo on sale so I just swapped them out, now it runs like a clock. Thanks everyone for helping out!

Speedfan only reports 41 deg celsius on CPU after 1 hour of Prime95, and the cheap TX3 Evo cooler is almost silent. I suspect overclocking will be easy.
 
I found a Z270 ATX mobo on sale so I just swapped them out, now it runs like a clock. Thanks everyone for helping out!

Speedfan only reports 41 deg celsius on CPU after 1 hour of Prime95, and the cheap TX3 Evo cooler is almost silent. I suspect overclocking will be easy.

Awesome. Hope you were able to return the motherboard without any issues or restocking fee. Enjoy being on cutting edge until October. Intel releases their next CPUs in October, which require new chipsent motherboards. :p
 
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