Building a new computer...

I had been doing a bit of research online to find out how easy it would be to build a new computer. Everyone I knew said it would be easy, and when I selected parts, everyone told me they should work fine with eachother. Well, I have everything I bought put together. Thing is, I haven't gotten the slightest response from the system.

I don't know for a fact that I have everything plugged in the right spot, but I assume the PSU is where most of my problem lies. My GPU has two 6-pin spots, and my PSU I found out only has one y-splitter with a 6-pin PCI-E cable. I wonder if that's my only issue, if I can get a workaround (I just really want to see if everything works, before I do anything stressful on the machine), if I can get an extra PCI-E cable and put it in somewhere, or if I need to buy an entirely different PSU.

Thanks for reading and responding. This is my first post, and my first attempt at building a computer, so I'll do my best at providing information that you folks might need to help me, but I may misunderstand at times.

 

Welcome to Major Geeks.

So we can try to diagnose your problem, please post the components in your system (make/model of motherboard, CPU, memory, power supply, video card, etc.). This will help us to see if everything is compatible and know if the power supply you currently have is adequate for your system.

Thanks.

 

What I ended up getting, after asking everyone I knew who had any idea what they were doing (which may not be much...) this is what I bought:

An HAF 912 case
PSU: RX-700AC
MOBO: ASRock 880GM-LD FX
CPU : FX 8120 AMD 8-core processor
HDD: A Barracuda 1TB SATA
SSD: Intel 520 series
GPU : Radeon HD 6950
RAM : I wanted to get a 2x8GB Ares set, but I forgot that in my shipping list and ended up buying a 2x4GB DDR3 set at Staples

A random DVD drive, a cooling fan that I found out was too big / redundant (I think), so I've left that out for now.

 

A few common mistakes when starting a new build for the first time in no particular order.

1. Motherboard power connector,not the large 24pin connector the smaller 8 pin connector,there should be two power connectors on your motherboard
2. Video card power connector,if you have a card that doesn't require additional power use that for troubleshooting.
3. Power switch on back of psu
4. Reset cmos,remove coin shaped battery for 20 secs with power disconnected then replace then try to boot,this should be done on every builds first boot.
5. Improperly installed memory,use just one stick in slot 0 or check your manual for a single stick placement
6. Cpu fan not connected
7. Brass stand off stuck under motherboard shorting pins.
8. Front case switch is connected to the right header on the the front panel header.
9. Improperly installed cpu,leave this until last then remove the cpu and check for bent pins and that its sat flush with the socket,make sure the clamp lever is locked down,if you use the boxed cooler you may need to buy some thermal past and reapply fresh paste one the heatsink is removed but this usually isn't necessary until its been heated once.

Until your computer turns on leave ALL the drives disconnected and use only one stick of memory,unplug everything and reconnect it checking everything is pushed home firmly.

Since you receive nothing at all the power system should be diagnosed first

Look in the manual to see the colour codes for power switch and make sure they are connected to the right pins,to eliminate a faulty switch disconnect the power switch and briefly short the two pins on the motherboard directly with a flat head screwdriver the computer should turn on.

Make sure the power supply works by disconnecting it from everything,take the main motherboard connector in hand and with a U shaped paper clip short the pin with the green wire and ANY black wire the psu should turn on.

 

thanks

 

You motherboard has a clear cmos jumper so check the jumper is set to pins 1/2 for regular use.

You can reset cmos using this jumper instead of removing the battery just move the jumper over to pins 2/3 for a few seconds then back to pins 1/2,the jumper is located underneath the cmos battery.

For the system panel header as its described in your manual disconnect everything from it then just connect the power switch to -

GND
PWRBTN

On page 26 of your manual

http://europe.asrock.com/downloadsite/manual/880GM-LE FX.pdf

Your motherboard has the standard 4pin ATX 12V connector instead of 8pin BTW.

 

I put the little "Power switch" thing with two tiny pinholes in it onto that group of 8 pins on the far left. Is that it? I have a reset switch of the same size, and "Led -" and "led +" one pin each. I had these all in a different spot before.

 

I also "quoted" that big list of yours and put something down for each, but it said it'd have to wait for Mod approval, so Idk when you'll see that. But I tried doing each of the steps there. The 1/2 - 2/3 pin thing seemed like it was in 2/3 pin spot already, so I moved it to 1/2.

 

Well it won't turn on if set to the reset postion so that could be a development,be sure you've got the right pins so READ THE MANUAL and follow the diagram exactly.

Go to page 26 of that link,remove all the other connectors and connect just the power switch to

GND
PWRBTN

 

And now I understand what you meant with the Powerswitch. I see the labels on the Pdf, now. I hadn't zoomed in all the way. I will try to match them up according to that. I unfortunately didn't recieve this manual in my box though :[ Wish I had.

 

So... I have just the powerswitch 2-pin thingy just plugged into where Pg. 12 says that "pwrswtch" is. None of the others are in there. I have the 4-pin PSU cord in, and I have the 24pin one in, too. The heatsink/fan is plugged in. The jumper is set so pins 1 and 2 are short. I have one RAM stick in the left slot. The PSU is switched to on. I have it plugged into an outlet and I try to hit the power switch and now the fan is spinning. Now what? Plug everything else back in?

 

Awesome Don't connect everything just yet-

Do you have your video card connected? The next step is to get video and check the health of the system so connect your monitor and video card,make sure you connect the video card power connectors if you haven't already then try to boot into bios,if possible don't use a Y splitter to power it unless you have only one pci-e power connector.

Once you have a video signal and you've check the health of the system in bios cpu temperature,voltages ect. you can re-connect everything.

 

Okay. So I put in the GPU again. Have it attached to the motherboard, and I have the y-splitter in both of the 6-pin slots (I just have the one). My monitor only says "check signal cable." I have the one cable with the screws or whatever in it. Am I missing something? I have two spots to fit that into my GPU. I tried both top and bottom.

 

I don't know if I need to do anything for the BIOS part... I have the GPU in, and I connected the monitor and GPU. I have the y-splitter put into the GPU, both of the 6-pin spots. But the monitor says to check the connection. Also there is a red light on the GPU if I only have one end of the y-splitter in there.

 

You must connect both power connectors into the card,how are you powering the video card,does your power supply not have two pci-e power connectors?

Do you have the video card in the pci-e X16 slot? Make sure the card is fully inserted,switch the outputs on the video card,you shouldn't use a hdtv to do this either it must be a pc monitor.

Once you've checked these things,disconnect the computer from the AC,turn the computer off,reset the bios by removing the battery for 20secs then replace.

Now try to turn it on,leave it for a few minutes to see if it turns on if not hold down the power button until it turns off then try to turn it on again,repeat 2-3 times.

Once you've done this switch over to your other memory stick and try to boot 2-3 times,switch memory slots then try to boot 2-3 times,make sure the memory is fully inserted and clipped down.

Double check all your video connections

 

I have to leave for work, now. I only have one PCI-E cord, again. It's just a y-splitter. If you respond again I'll get the email and be able to check it on my phone, and perhaps while i'm in town I can buy another if I have to. I dunno. I'll be back in 5 hours though, if you're still around. Thanks so far!

 

No problem Do you have a PC speaker? If one came with your case or motherboard connect it to the motherboard or buy one while your out,they are very cheap less than a buck if you don't have one.

This will give us fault codes if it still won't turn on.

 

Well, no where in town seems to sell this sort of part. No PCI-E cables in town. And looking at my PSU, I don't see anywhere I would be able to hook it in anyway. I'm thinking I'll have to go to Staples and buy one that has two in it, won't I? Is there anything else I need to look for?

 

I'm not sure what you mean could you explain? Do you mean a Y splitter for the vid card power?

This is what you should be using since your power supply only has one PCI-E power connector.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=pc...w=138&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:89
They are not ideal,I would never use one and could overload the power supply but it should provide enough power to turn on the computer.

Here is what the pc speaker looks like,usually if you don't have power to the video card the speaker will let out a continuous loud beep indicating a video problem.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=pc...w=145&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:84