possible motherboard fault?

[edgedemon]

Im putting a new build together for a home server project
I have bought the following
1x gigabyte MA790X-UD4 mobo
athlon64 X2 5050e
1 x OCZ 2GB value DDR2 800Mhz
Seasonic true power 400W PSU
I already have an assortment of various SATAII drives and an old ATI passive cooled pci-x GPU

I have assembled everything, double checked the connections and turned it on. All the fans, (case and cpu) spin up, no error beeps, but I can not get any output to the monitor, it stays in a sleep state, no mouse movements or key presses will wake it up. I kow the monitor 'sees' a GPU as if I disconnect the dvi connector from the GPU, the monitor displays a 'no signal detected' splash screen. plug the connector back into the GPU and the splash screen disappears, and the monitor goes blank again.
At first I thought it might be the graphics card, so I took it out, put it into another machine, and I got output to the monitor straight away.
I then tried to clear the cmos - no difference
I tried the RAM in every slot - no difference.
I took my working 8800GT and tried that in the new mobo, same result, no output to monitor. I tried both pci-x slots.
I have disconnected everything but the cpu, gpu and RAM to try and eliminate errors..
One thing I did notice is that if i remove the RAM entirely and power on, I get no error beeps from the BIOS - shouldn't I get some sort of warning?
Its a brand new mobo, so I doubt that it is faulty, how can I go about finding out what is wrong, Im stumped as I cant diagnose anything as I have no signal to the monitor. I am presuming that the RAM and CPU are OK as they are new, but I have nothing else to test them on.
Please help as this is doing my head in, Im thinking of RMA'ing the board and trying to get another today, just thought I would check to see if i had missed anything?

 

[BradleyKZN]

It might be power supply?

 

[Yin]

might be a short circuit somewhere or something else causing the problem.

Try to get it going with just your mb, ram cpu and graphics card if it boots

If it doesnt try a open bench test.

 

[edgedemon]

Right, I have done a bit more research and I think I might have found a possible cause?
The CPU I am using is a Athlon X2 5050e and it is not listed on the gigabyte web site at all for this mobo, the nearest match is a X2 4850e, would having an unsupported cpu cause a blank screen like I am experiencing.
I have reduced the components down to CPU RAM and GPU and still get a blank screen.
As I ordered everything online, I am not sure on what to return as faulty, I cant test the PSU other than plug it in and power on, which it does. I dont have another PSU to try
What are the symptoms of an unsupported CPU?
Should I RMA the mobo or the power supply or both - I face a charge if they are found not to be faulty

 

[BradleyKZN]

I think you should see if you can get a cpu that is on the supported on the list, and then flash the bios with a newer version that supports the cpu

 

[edgedemon]

I think you should see if you can get a cpu that is on the supported on the list, and then flash the bios with a newer version that supports the cpu

Yeah, Im off to find a 2nd hand old model now, dont want to spend too much in case that is not it..

 

[BradleyKZN]

Yeah, either buy one, or get a friend to lend you one, i just read about your ram issue, and if its not the cpu then its the mobo, but try the cpu thing first if you can get it cheap enough.

 

[Geofrancis]

yea look for a old single core semperon to let you boot up and update your bios.

 

[edgedemon]

this gets worse...

I managed to borrow a X2 4850e which gigabyte list as supported in BIOS F1, so I should be OK and I have the same problem, no output to monitor.
Im going to have to take apart my HTPC, and try using that PSU, and maybe a stick of ram to eliminate where the fault is. No TV for the day, the missus will not be happy
Im thinking that if there is no output to the monitor, then it has to be CPU, RAM or mobo?
I know the gpu works as I have plugged it into another machine and get output..
The only thing concerning me is that if I remove the RAM and boot up, I get no BIOS error beep code - I should get an error shouldn't I? Or is this a red herring?
Will post back as I test more..

 

[95Viper]

Hello,

1. You will not hear any beep codes unless you connect a speaker to the speaker header.

2. Try using the second DVI connector on the video card, if it has one.

3. Make sure your memory is in the first two slots closest to the CPU or the two farthest away, not seperated.

4. Try removing the battery for 2 or three minutes, to reset the bios, reinstall it and try booting.

5. Check all power connections and header connections for proper connections.

Just some ideas.

I noticed you did most of this,but it never hurts to double check. I am sorta leaning towards motherboard ,memory or psu.

INFO:
The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.
(For reference only.)
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error

 

[edgedemon]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help

Its the PSU..

Plug my tagan into it and everything is OK.
One thing I wouldnt mind knowing is when to use 20pin or 24pin connectors on the main power connector on the mobo?
My tagan is quite old and has a 20pin connector + 2 x 4 pin connectors that I join together and plug into the second power connection on the mobo.
My new 'borked' seasonic has a 24 pin plus 8 pin connector.... I noticed that the 24 pin could be split to 20 and 4 pin, so I tried that - no luck
could it be that I need to find an older type PSU for this board with 20 pin connectors?

 

[BradleyKZN]

Woot, i nailed that one on the head! Now, i think your seasonic should work in your mobo just fine so i think you need to RMA it. Sorry bro