New Build Woes w/ Asus P9X79 Deluxe

[OxFactor]

So I made the mistake of falling for the Asus P9X79 Deluxe back in September, and as of now (December), I have yet to have a functional PC using this board. I am absolutely, totally, at a loss as to what the problem could be!


Build Detail:
Board: Asus P9X79 Deluxe (RMA'd x2)
Chip: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2 GHz (RMA 'd x2)
Cooling: Corsair H100
Power: CoolerMaster 1200W Pro 80 Gold (RMA'd x2)
RAM: 1st Try: 16GB of Corsair Vengence - 2nd Try: 16GB of GSkill Ripjaws Z
Vid: EVGA GeForce GTX670
Boot Drive: Intel 520 SSD 240GB
Data Drive: Hitachi SATA 6gbs 2TB HDD
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced

So on the first power-on, my system actually "did" show video & attempt to POST. It got about 1-min in & shutdown on it's own ... never to boot again. So I did all the typical system checks, ending with a bare bench test ... nothing. All the system would do is run in a continuous loop of spinning the fans for a second & flickering some LED's.

2nd board shows up from Asus; it was missing a heatsink lug out of the box ... so right back it went (no system test with this board).

3rd board shows up from Asus & looked good, so into the build it goes. Still, I get the exact same results ... "00" Q-Code, no beeps, a solid red CPU_LED, and NO POST. Yep, I even updated the BIOS.

A call back to Asus results in the attention now being on the CPU (Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2 GHz). So it get's RMA'd. New one arrives brand new in the box, install it, & same result.

Next call back to Asus results in the Power Supply being the focus (CoolerMaster 1200W Pro 80 Gold) ... even though my Thermaltake PS Tester says it's A-OK. So, I RMA the Power Supply. New one arrives, install it, & same result.

Call back to Asus results in yet another RMA for the board ...

 

[Nebulous]

Holy crap! 3 boards, 2 psu's and 2 chips and still a no go is terrible. You think maybe static shock is the culprit?

I mean so many defective parts is pretty uncanny.

 

[Culbrelai]

Wow... Is this many defective parts common? I'm worried about having even 1 when I finally install the processors in my build and finish it, that something won't work (mostly worried about mobo)

Maybe its just bad luck, Q_Q. All of your parts are from reputable brands (except for a Cooler Master PSU). Damn.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Have you tried putting it together outside of the case?

 

[OxFactor]

Yeah, I've did a a full & barebones bench build (outside of the case) to rule out any grounding possibilities. Didn't help any ...

I also where a wrist strap during my builds (grounded).


I'm still inclined to blame it on the board .... but I'm at a total loss at this point. I've built several PC's with never a problem, but this one is whoop'n me!

 

[Mandrake4565]

I've had the same issue when a gpu went bad, but you said you tested it bare. So

 

[fornoob]

I guess you've tried with the CPU and the RAM only (everything else unplugged) to check if it posts?
Did you try switching the heatsink (go for the Intel basic one for example, just to check if it isn't a defect on the surface of your cooler...)?
What is the frequency of your RAM? I had many (MANY!!!!) issues with ASUS MOBO and a couple of times, it just didn't want to boot with too high rated RAM sticks (I have no clue why because the RAM speed is always at default value at the first boot, so 1333 or 1600MHz for example...).
The IO shield is sometimes faulty but in your case, since you've tried with everything out of the case so without IO shield, it can't be it.

 

[OxFactor]

I guess you've tried with the CPU and the RAM only (everything else unplugged) to check if it posts?
Did you try switching the heatsink (go for the Intel basic one for example, just to check if it isn't a defect on the surface of your cooler...)?
What is the frequency of your RAM? I had many (MANY!!!!) issues with ASUS MOBO and a couple of times, it just didn't want to boot with too high rated RAM sticks (I have no clue why because the RAM speed is always at default value at the first boot, so 1333 or 1600MHz for example...).
The IO shield is sometimes faulty but in your case, since you've tried with everything out of the case so without IO shield, it can't be it.

Yeah ... I tried CPU & RAM only. Still, "00" Q-Code, no beeps, a solid red CPU_LED, and NO POST.

I thought about the H100 since it's known to have quality problems; so I used my laser Infrared Themo to check the temps around the CPU & I've never seen anything unusual. I've tried plugging another fan into the header as well.

The "latest" RAM I'm attempting with id GSkill DDR3-1600 (4x4GB). Nothing special there I don't think & GSkill says its fully tested w/ this X79 board.

 

[Mandrake4565]

It sounds like one of those, I can't believe I didn't see that moments. Is there anything that you could have missed while connecting it all together?

 

[OxFactor]

It sounds like one of those, I can't believe I didn't see that moments. Is there anything that you could have missed while connecting it all together?

Don't think so ... was real careful. No slips of the screwdriver or nothin.

I retrace my steps often to think it through ... but, even if I did, I'd think that after all the RMA's & part swaps that something would come back around.

I'd be happy if I just heard a beep or two at this point ...

 

[Mandrake4565]

I feel for you OxFactor.

 

[OxFactor]

So I just talked to Asus, & they said the board had a bad audio controller. It was repaired, and the board is on its way back.

Wonder what 'n tha [beep] would've blown the audio controller

 

[Mandrake4565]

Hopefully the issue will be resolved now, that is entirely too much to have to go through on a new build.

 

[Goshawk]

I have run into instances of installing heatsinks / watercooling kits too tight and it creating symptoms like these.

I know it sounds silly, but give it a shot.... screw the block on all the way to the stops, then loosen each of the four screws a 1/4 to 1/2 turn and see what happens.

Also, make sure if you have only 4 stick of memory in the system, that they are in the blue slots, NOT the black ones.

 

[OxFactor]

I have run into instances of installing heatsinks / watercooling kits too tight and it creating symptoms like these.

I know it sounds silly, but give it a shot.... screw the block on all the way to the stops, then loosen each of the four screws a 1/4 to 1/2 turn and see what happens.

Also, make sure if you have only 4 stick of memory in the system, that they are in the blue slots, NOT the black ones.

Thanks ... I'll give that a shot ... with the Corsair H100, I've been tightening it down untill it stops.

I also ordered & received a new BIOS chip from ASUS ... just to rule that out as well.

 

[OxFactor]

So I received another RMA board from ASUS last week, and still the same result ... "00" Q-Code & A solid red CPU_LED w/ fans spinning .

So Far I’ve tried 3-Boards, 2-Processors, 2-Sets of Memory (Corsair Vengeance, and now Gskill Ripjawz), & 3-Power Supplies. Tested, both in the case (Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced) & outside of the case (breadboard style). In each case, the board does the same thing.

The only thing I haven't swapped that still touches this system is the Corsair H100 ... but I've pretty well ruled out any shenanigans that it could cause too ... I even tried "loosly" installing it this time.

I even purchased a new #3203 BIOS chip to assure that I would test with the latest BIOS.

I'm absolutely totally stumped ....

 

[Stoneyman101]

First thing. sounds like Asus techs don't have a clue of what the real problem is.
If you have a spare videocard try swapping it out.
I would also do a bare test with only one stick of ram.
Try ditching the H100 and put the stock air cooler on.
Do this outside the case. Make sure the 8 pin cpu power connector is plugged in.
If you have a multimeter, check to make sure the power supply is putting out the correct voltage.
With all the stuff you have RMA'd and still have the same problem, it could only be what you haven't changed I.E the H100, your videocard or the hard drives

 

[peugot]

i have the same board and i get "00" every time i use linux(from a usb stick) if that would lead you to think of something you have tried(or not)? do you get anything on the screen?

 

[OxFactor]

First thing. sounds like Asus techs don't have a clue of what the real problem is.
If you have a spare videocard try swapping it out.
I would also do a bare test with only one stick of ram.
Try ditching the H100 and put the stock air cooler on.
Do this outside the case. Make sure the 8 pin cpu power connector is plugged in.
If you have a multimeter, check to make sure the power supply is putting out the correct voltage.
With all the stuff you have RMA'd and still have the same problem, it could only be what you haven't changed I.E the H100, your videocard or the hard drives

I agree re: the Asus Techs ... seems I get a different answer each time I call.

I wish the tests mentioned here were the answer; I've tried each over 'n over. For the last 8-10 tests, I don't even have the Vid card or HDD's attached to the board ... with the P9X79, it should atleast register that the vid card & HDD's are not present ... but it never gets past the solid red CPU_LED & the "00" Q-Code.

I've tested the Power Supply (all three of them) with a high-end Thermaltake PS tester.

I'd love to blame it on the H100 as well ... but I've all but ruled it out by 1) using a known good case fan for the heatsink header on the board, and 2) very loosly attaching it to the CPU.

 

[OxFactor]

i have the same board and i get "00" every time i use linux(from a usb stick) if that would lead you to think of something you have tried(or not)? do you get anything on the screen?

Never got far enough to even consider an operating system.

Only time something has shown on the display was during the very first power-on ... the system "tried" to POST, displayed things that you would expect to see, then powered down on its own with the symptoms mentioned in this thread.