Motherboard upgrading question

[edahl]

Allright, this one's got me stumped.

I'm upgrading my system with an Asus A7V and a Thunderbird 800. Installed everything this morning, and when I power up the system the fans begin to spin up with everything sounding normal, but then the power shuts off after about 5 seconds -- before POST really begins. Any ideas what the problem is here?

The motherboard power light comes on. The power supply works fine with my P2 motherboard and all my components. No visible damage to any of the new components (processor, motherboard, memory). As I said, I'm really at a loss here. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

- E Dahl

 

[edahl]

Please, any ideas at all? I've tried reseating the memory and CPU, along with pressing the power button for four seconds...

 

[Prodigy^]

could sound like the mobo is just bust

 

[edahl]

That's definitely possible, though I hope it's not the case. Is there any chance that my power supply isn't good enough for the motherboard and processor? I ask because the power supply actually shuts off after 5 seconds, but the motherboard power light stays lit. My PS is a cheap COMPUSA 300 Watt.

 

[Killfile]

Could be that your PSU isn't enough for the job.I've seen PSU's that have been happily running K6-2's or PII's roll over and beg for mercy when faced with an Athlon.

Splash out the $45 on a branded 300watt ATX unit that's on AMD's approved list, it's worth it just for the peace of mind. Personally, I wouldn't trust CompUSA cable ties in my system ...

Also, make sure that the heatsink is properly seated. The new flip-chip designs are prone to having the HS tip over to one side and overheat, especially if you aren't using one of the new offset clip designs.

Before you start buying replacement bits or returning stuff, pull everything from your case and try the board with nothing but the chip, RAM and video card, all set up on a block of foam. It could be that your board is shorting out or one the drives or cards isn't connected correctly and is killing it. Plus if it is your PSU, you might be able to get a response by unplugging power-hungry fans, drives and cards.

 

[Ulysses]

Sounds like the PS to me, since it's shutting down after starting. I think a short would kill it (shut it down) immediately. The PS is stressed heavily at startup - maybe try it with just CPU, fan and RAM - nothin' else. Killfile's pro'ly right. Check this out when you're at your wits' end:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=202744