Computer Construction Help

[novacthall]

A fair warning in advance: this post is likely to be a genuine doozie. I will do my best to keep it as lean and logical as possible, but also keep for your consideration that I'm an engineer and tend to overanalyze/overthink things. As such, assume that my degree of comfort digging around in the computer is high, but perhaps my technical knowledge is lacking. I'm doing something wrong, of that much I can be certain. All genuine assistance and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome.

The Background
I bought my fiancé a computer for her birthday. Well, not so much a computer as several parts that could, ideally, one day become a computer. I've built computers in the past without incident, but I admit it's been a while.

The Hardware
Here's what I'm working with:
CASE: Apevia X-Cruiser
FAN: Apevia 80mm CF4SL-UBL-LED
FAN: Apevia 120mm 120MCF12SL-UBL (These fans are in addition to the two 80mms that came with the case.)
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6400
GPU: Sapphire X1950XTX 512MB GDDR3
PSU: Fotron FSP550-80GLC-R 550W
RAM: 2x1GB Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4
HDD: 250GB Western Digital SATA2 WD2500KS
OPTICAL: NEC 7170A-0B DVD Burner

What We Did
Putting the computer together wasn't so much of a difficult task as much as it was time-consuming, as I had expected. Despite the fact that the Intel instructions, the Apevia instructions, and the motherboard instructions all suggested different approaches to building the system, we managed through it all. All hardware components have been installed, including the power supply which I am now aware is overkill for this rig (WAY too many cables!!).

What Happened
When everything was cabled in and connected to the power supply, we double-checked just to make sure we really did connect everything. When that was complete, we plugged in the PC, switched the power supply on, and held our breaths while she pushed the front panel power switch. The fans rotated very briefly and the fan LEDs blinked, but then everything quickly went dormant. The motherboard, as far as I can tell, lacks any on-board lights or indicators that clue you in that everything is either okay or decidedly not okay, so I have very little information to go on.

With the christening bottle of champagne rebounding defiantly off the hull and onto our unguarded foreheads, I theorized that my wiring scheme, which I will describe in a moment, could be wonky. I spent some time working and reworking the MOLEX connectors in various configurations, but never achieved more than that split-second of actual on-time. At 11 PM last night, we called it a night and I vowed to seek out those wiser than myself.

My Thoughts and Design Choices
I'd like to outline, if I may, the uncertainties I have at this moment. Here are my observations and questions.

• About the wiring schematics: I've got more MOLEX than I know what to do with. The case manual tells me that I can daisy-chain the front panel LEDs and fans, which is what I had done. Initially, I had the case divided up into power-draw segments, with each segment getting its own MOLEX. I used them all, because I figured that my resistance loop in a parallel system would be less taxing than one long string of components. Different configurations did not seem to have any effect.
  Regardless of how many MOLEX connectors I use from the power supply, I've got an awful lot of 4-pin female sockets lying around. Am I supposed to do something with those?
  The hard drive is SATA, which I've got exactly no experience with using or setting up. I currently have an SATA cable going to the Intel SATA controller (SATA 0) on the motherboard and a 4-pin legacy MOLEX supplying power to it. What confused me greatly, though, is that the power supply has 7 SATA power connectors, which I did not try. I read online that I absolutely should not use both power connectors, but I was unsure if one was required over the other.
  The power supply cable that connects to the motherboard is a 20+4 pin configuration. We started with the +4 socketed in, but saw in the motherboard manual (or was it the case?) that the +4 is only needed for Pentium 4. I'm working with a C2D, so I pulled the +4, but still only managed to get my power blip.
  Sapphire nicely included a 4-pin to 6-pin converter cable, but the power supply has two 6-pin cables available, so I used one of those.
  I don't have to do anything with the RAM timing, do I? But if I can't get the system to power on, how would I do that?

For the sake of my sanity, I have not considered that any of the hardware is or could be bad. I default to PICNIC/PEBCAK, even if the unfortunate target is yours truly.

If you read through all that, you're my new best friend. I just know it's something simple I'm leaving out, but I can't for the life of me figure out what. Any advice or criticism is, of course, welcome, and I thank you for your time.

 

[stogez]

Is the Heatsink/Fan attached correctly? The processor might be overheating and shutting down.

 

[novacthall]

Hello, stogez, thank you for the prompt reply.

We spent a great deal of time making sure the processor was lined up with the notches nice and perfect. As for the fan, we went with the stock one that comes with the E6400. While it made me uncomfortable pushing those pins into my motherboard as hard as I had to, they're all locked into place. The fan is connected to its "CPU_FAN" slot on the mobo, though we get no spin on "startup".

 

[amddude]

Does the fan spin at all?

 

[novacthall]

Good morning, amddude.

Other than my quarter-second of power, the only visible activity is in the four case fans. They spin very briefly, with a quick blip of power supplied to their respective LEDs, but beyond that the rest of the contents of the case is idle, including the CPU fan.

 

[tommytran]

I guess you can try to unplug EVERYTHING except CPU (no fans for now as we will shut it down quickly after POST), 1 stick of RAM. If you successfully boot up, then add the hard drive. If you using the SATA cable, you don't need to use the normal 4 pins power cable. Let's us know what happen.

 

[KGB]

Try booting it with just the minimum components required:

1. MB
2. CPU & Heatsink
3. 1 stick of RAM
4. Video Card

Also, try clearing the CMOS.


Tommy got in before me.

 

[novacthall]

Welcome to the topic, tommytran and KGBMAN. And thanks for your suggestions.

Originally posted by: tommytran
I guess you can try to unplug EVERYTHING except CPU (no fans for now as we will shut it down quickly after POST), 1 stick of RAM. If you successfully boot up, then add the hard drive. If you using the SATA cable, you don't need to use the normal 4 pins power cable. Let's us know what happen.

What I've got going into the hard drive at this moment is the 7-pin SATA motherboard interface cable and the 4-pin MOLEX. Does the hard drive draw power from the 7-pin cable? I was under the impression that it was only used for data transfer and required auxiliary power.

Originally posted by: KGBMAN
Try booting it with just the minimum components required:

1. MB
2. CPU & Heatsink
3. 1 stick of RAM
4. Video Card

Also, try clearing the CMOS.

So I should try disconnecting all power cables, then just hooking up the 20-pin ATX and powering on, for starters? Do I need the +4-pin cable to accompany the 20-pin ATX? Should I remove the processor to do that or can I just not connect the power cable to the processor supply line? Will the motherboard engage without a processor in the socket or a powered processor? What does clearing the CMOS do?

 

[DyslexicHobo]

I have the feeling that the 4-pin connector to the motherboard may be required. The manual might only say for Pentium 4, but it probably refers to Pentium 4 or higher. I could be wrong, though.

If that's not the problem (or you feel unsafe testing it, I'm not sure how much damage it could possibly cause if it's not meant for your CPU), then unplug EVERYTHING except for the motherboard power, the CPU + HSF, 1 stick of RAM, and the video card.

Good luck! I know how frustrating it is for a build not to work first try. Out of three times I've built a computer, I've had a problem that stumped me every single time.

 

[tommytran]

What I've got going into the hard drive at this moment is the 7-pin SATA motherboard interface cable and the 4-pin MOLEX. Does the hard drive draw power from the 7-pin cable? I was under the impression that it was only used for data transfer and required auxiliary power.

Please check this page for a better explaination Link

 

[MadAmos]

For what it is worth I am running a similar set up and yes you should use the 20 and the +4 connector. The hard drive should have 1 power cable and 1 data cable (smaller cable direct to Mobo) the power cable can be either the 4 pin molex or the SATA style but not both. there is also a square four pin connector for CPU power on the mobo between the CPU socket and the rear panel that needs to be connected it can be hard to see with the CPU heatsink on. Other than that I would walk away for a while and then use the Mobo manual and verify all the connections are correct even better is start over with every thing disconnected and 1 at a time reinstall them. If all this is ok then try with 1 stick of RAM if still the same try with the other also try it in different slots. if you want to PM me for more ideas feel free.

Amos

 

[mechBgon]

novacthall, start with this:

1) this is an ATX12V cable: two yellow wires, two black wires :camera:. Yellow wires are 12V and black are ground.

2) this is a 24-pin ATX 2.0 cable :camera:. Note that the four-pin section of an ATX2.0 cable has one red wire (5V), one orange (3.3V), one yellow (12V) and one black (ground).


From your narrative, it sounded possible that you might've mixed up the ATX12V cable with the 4-pin section of the ATX2.0 cable. Since the voltages are different, they obviously should not be interchanged. The PSU shutting itself down would be an expected result.

In any case, put the 4-pin ATX12V cable into the proper receptacle (near the top edge of the board, by the PSU) even though you don't have a Pentium4. Put the 20-pin and 4-pin sections of the ATX2.0 cable into the main power receptacle over at the right edge of the board.

If problems persist, take the board out of the case and lay it on cardboard, threaten it a bit, and try it in a bare-bones configuration outside the case on cardboard.