Problem with new build

[PepperBreath]

My specs for those who will ask.

Video: EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Mem: OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
PSU: Antec NeoHE 500W

Here's the deal. I got this PC running right away. Installed Vista but after a few days I started getting some BSODs. Many of them referenced my antivirus software but even after uninstalling it, the PC was still relatively unstable.

So, I switched to Windows XP SP2. Sweet, sweet stability. Started playing some games, went about business as usual, things were awesome.

On Tuesday I had left my PC on when I went to work and school and when I returned home, my PC was off. Thinking that power was interrupted for whatever reason, I hit the power button. Absolutely nothing. Hit it a few more times. Once the power LED blinked for a split second but quickly went off again. Turned off the PSU in the back and unplugged it for an hour and then tried it again. Got the same Power LED blink for a split second and then nothing.

I haven't had time to really test it much beyond that. I don't have extra parts to do so either. One thing I did try was unplugging the CPU power cable and just leaving the larger motherboard power cable plugged in. When the CPU Power cable is unplugged, the computer fans will spin up when the PSU is switched on. Otherwise, there's nothing else I can do.

Tomorrow when I have more time, I may try the Antec NeoHE in another PC to see if it's indeed the PSU and not something else. However, I'd like some input to see if this is symptomatic of something else. Without spare parts, it makes diagnosing this problem somewhat difficult.

 

[neothe0ne]

Is 500W enough to run an 8800GTS?

 

[PepperBreath]

According to that PSU calculator that's floating around, it is. It's supposedly SLI-compatible with three 12v rails.

I suspect the PSU though because it's actually a replacement for a previous Antec that went bad before it. I'm just wondering if I got yet another bad PSU.

The problem is, do I replace the PSU not really knowing if that's the problem? I'd hate to spend money on parts if it turns out my hunches are wrong.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: neothe0ne
Is 500W enough to run an 8800GTS?

:roll:

You need to read through a few pages of threads...
http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=84&flcache=4658616

 

[MarcVenice]

Sounds like a bad PSU. Could be the mobo too, but that's highly unlikely.

 

[PepperBreath]

Just a quick update. Tried the NeoHE 500W in an older PC (the PC this build was supposed to replace) and it powered up just fine. It's not the PSU.

This sucks...

 

[gamephile]

God damn these situations suck. Try removing everything non essential to the computer powering up. Only have 1 stick of ram in there. Do you have a PC speaker hooked up? Getting one now will save you lots of headaches as you can diagnose basic problems by referencing the beep patterns with your motherboard manual.

Double check all your connections, and don't forget to account for all stray cables. Just yesterday I noticed that one of my power adapter's 5V line had become seperated, meaning that it could have easily shorted if it touched the case.

Try and boot up with no cards installed, just CPU+Cooler and Ram. If you have a pc speaker you may get a beep that indicates there is no video card. If you get that far anyways. If you can, keep trying to troubleshoot everything. Try the ram in another computer if you can. Also how were your CPU temps before your system went kaput. Was the CPU cooler always situated correctly?

Keep us posted.

 

[PepperBreath]

CPU temps were about average. I had a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme without a fan that kept the temp around the same as a stock cooler. I don't think the temp ever went higher than the mid-50s under full load. (I would check here and there after a few hours of gaming).

I pulled everything from the case. Same problem. Does not power up at all. If I switch the PSU off and then on again, it'll power for a split second and then shut off and won't power back on unless I reset the PSU. The PSU is fine though and worked in another PC when I tested it.

I don't know if I mentioned this in my first message but the computer will power up if I pull the 4pin 12v plug from the motherboard. Obviously it just powers up the fans and doesn't post but it's interesting anyway. If I plug in the 4pin 12v plug, the symptoms return.

After doing some searching, it seems as though lots of people are having problems with the GA-P35-DS3R albeit I couldn't find anyone with a problem similar to mine. I am starting to strongly suspect the motherboard though.

At this point in time I'm strongly thinking of returning it to Newegg. Whether I just exchange it for the same board or get a refund to get something different is the real question.

 

[gamephile]

Aiii yie yie...Well it sounds like you're closing in on the motherboard for sure. To have a computer go from working to just...not...without any physical movement or jostling points to a part failure. As to what motherboard to buy, that's a tough one. I have a Gigabyte board and while it hasn't been perfect, it still works. But it's a revision 3, so take that for what it is. Good luck sir.

 

[PepperBreath]

Posting from my new build. I had forgotten there was a PC Club in my town. Went there and bought a GA-P35-DS3L. While I had the case out, I also installed a heatsink on my 8800 GTS. When everything was good to go, I powered it up and....nothing. Fans spun up but no POST.

I freaked out thinking I shorted the video card or something. After doing a quick check, it turns out I didn't insert two of the RAM sticks in all the way. Once those were situated, everything booted up fine.

The only anomaly is that my backup software worked real slow with the new board as opposed to the old one. I actually ended up restoring my HDD with older PC since a restore on my new build would have taken 9 hours or so. Windows XP seems to run fine though so I'm not sure why the backup software was so slow.