No power on new build

Reamer Fanny · 06-02-2012 5:03pm #1

Hi I wonder if anyone can help me, I've just bought a new system to build and the motherboard doesn't seem to be getting any power even though the 24 pin power connecter from the PSU is connected to the motherboard there is no light on the motherboard to indicate that it is receiving power.

The motherboard is a ASRock P67 the power supply outputs 450w any ideas what I'm doing wrong here?

Monotype · 06-02-2012 5:51pm

Have you got the second 4 or 8 pin connector connected?
Is the PSU switched on at the back?
Is it a good quality PSU?

Reamer Fanny · 06-02-2012 6:18pm

Monotype wrote: »

Have you got the second 4 or 8 pin connector connected?
Is the PSU switched on at the back?
Is it a good quality PSU?

The 4 pin atx power is also connected, the PSU is in the | position. It's a new case with new 450w PSU, PSU fan now spins which is promising.

Monotype · 06-02-2012 6:41pm

Did the PSU come with the case? These are usually very cheaply made PSUs and are of low standard.

Do you have a spare PSU to try?

Have you tried starting it up or is it still in the earlier stages of build?

Reamer Fanny · 06-02-2012 8:03pm

Monotype wrote: »

Did the PSU come with the case? These are usually very cheaply made PSUs and are of low standard.

Do you have a spare PSU to try?

Have you tried starting it up or is it still in the earlier stages of build?

Yep the PSU came with the case and works fine I was able to test it by bridging the green and black pins with a paper clip, the PSU spins and so do the PC fans connected to the molex connections.

On another note one of the red pins on the 24 pin connector was loose I have pushed it back in and will test shortly.

As it is now I have the motherboard in the case I just want to make sure its receiving power before I proceed with the build.

Serephucus · 06-02-2012 9:55pm

I'd replace that PSU if I were you, even if you do get it working now. Just because it's powered on doesn't mean it can provide the power you require. I guarantee that if you try and pull anywhere near 450W from it, you'll be left with broken, smoking components.

PSU wattage only means so much. It's only really good for giving you a ballpark figure of how much power the PSU can provide, and even then, you have to take into account the brand. There's a reason you can buy 500W PSUs for €15 vs. others for €60.

The trick with budget PSUs is that they're going by the peak rating of the PSU - if your system spikes at 450W for a split second, it can give that much power, but the rest of the time it might only be pulling 250W. A €40 450W PSU will give you a consistent 450W, and could handle spikes up to 550W or so.

If you can at all, I'd replace it with something like this instead (depending on system specs):

http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair-430-watt-cx430-v2-builder-series-80-plus-power-supply-7K9K.html?q=CX430&src=16

uncle_sam_ie · 06-02-2012 9:57pm

What make is the PSU? Do you really want to risk using a PSU that could damage your new build. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVEtr14FEA

Reamer Fanny · 06-02-2012 11:45pm

Got it sorted turned out to be a lose pin on the 24 pin power connector on with the build...

Reamer Fanny · 07-02-2012 1:36pm

The build went fine after the initial hiccups, it's now running Windows 7 on 16 GB DDR3 RAM, Intel Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GeForce 210 1GB DDR3 not the best hardware but certainly not the worst for an entry-level PC gamer.

Overheal · 07-02-2012 1:44pm

not to instill buyers remorse but for gaming on the same budget you should have been looking more at an i5 2600-ish with probably half that memory and a beefier GPU. There are no performance gains to be had, in gaming, between the i5 and the i7.

Reamer Fanny · 07-02-2012 1:48pm

Overheal wrote: »

not to instill buyers remorse but for gaming on the same budget you should have been looking more at an i5 2600-ish with probably half that memory and a beefier GPU. There are no performance gains to be had, in gaming, between the i5 and the i7.

Built this for my brother but I've taken your advice on board makes a lot of sense to me.

Serephucus · 07-02-2012 2:12pm

It'll be an amazing rendering machine, but a pretty horrible gaming one. I really would consider a PSU upgrade though.

stevenf17 · 07-02-2012 2:19pm

Yeah id have to agree with Overheal, the 16 gigs and an i7 is major overkill for the gpu you got.

And just a bit of advice for the future on buying PSU's. IMO It's one of the things people underestimate the importance of.
Every component of your system relies on the PSU to provide it with clean power all the time.
To but it into context of buying a really cheap/lower quality PSU it's like if you have just bought a new sports car(your i7) and then decide to put dirty petrol into it. It'll run alright but after a while your going to run into problems, and it won't run nearly as efficiently.

Vicxas · 07-02-2012 4:46pm

Agree with above posts, PSU is the driving force of your build and should never be downgraded. You can pick up a fairly decent one for around 120 Euro.

ShadowHearth · 07-02-2012 5:03pm

+1 on psu, I would not even get that psu near such expencive components. Even unplugged one!!!

As for gaming machine - its horrible even at entry level. It is extremely unbalanced. Overkill on ram and CPU, but then a total loss on gpu side. I would stick atleast 6770 in the for an entry build.

Monotype · 07-02-2012 5:24pm

Vicxas wrote: »

Agree with above posts, PSU is the driving force of your build and should never be downgraded. You can pick up a fairly decent one for around 120 Euro.

That kind of money isn't necessary! Half that would buy you one of reliable quality. You still have to choose carefully though. Of course, modular cables, gold/platinum ratings and high wattage will cost extra.

Vicxas · 07-02-2012 5:35pm

Monotype wrote: »

That kind of money isn't necessary! Half that would buy you one of reliable quality. You still have to choose carefully though. Of course, modular cables, gold/platinum ratings and high wattage will cost extra.

Oops, that was the price of mine. Mybad

Overheal · 08-02-2012 3:21am

Monotype wrote: »

That kind of money isn't necessary! Half that would buy you one of reliable quality. You still have to choose carefully though. Of course, modular cables, gold/platinum ratings and high wattage will cost extra.

Platinum? Damn, I didn't even know there was a platinum

Didn't see an offering from Corsair that was Platinum cert, I've usually trusted them. But how are the Antec PSUs?

Monotype · 08-02-2012 9:31am

Overheal wrote: »

Platinum? Damn, I didn't even know there was a platinum

Didn't see an offering from Corsair that was Platinum cert, I've usually trusted them. But how are the Antec PSUs?

Yeah, there's only a few. First one I saw was Superflower's golden king which is something like €125 for 550W, so they're not cheap. A few more have shown up since then.

Corsair don't have any platinum PSUs. It's not a good idea to trust any PSU manufacturer or rule out another as all bad. Mainly because most of the companies selling PSUs don't even make them themselves (aside from the design of the shell, although input & design can vary). Corsair's original CX line was poor enough. Well, not the very first one, which was the CX400, but the ones afterwards like the original C430, CX500.

How are Antec's PSUs in general or their platinum PSUs? In general, Antec are mostly good. They use the same manufacturer (Seasonic) for many of their PSUs so you're getting a very similar product.
As for their platinum PSUs - I haven't heard much about their platinum PSUs, but there's a few reviews around. They're made by FSP who used to be pretty good, then dropped a bit overall but looks like they've been coping themselves on again and are making a lot of high quality PSUs. You could probably get more info about them in general if you can find out who also uses FSP as their OEM and who are currently using these platinum PSUs.
I can't even find anywhere that sells them around here, although you don't have to worry about that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371054
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371055
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371056

Certainly cheaper than early platinum PSUs, although PSUs are always a bit cheaper in the US. It's funny that I would have previously considered their "earthwatts" brand as a more budget line but they are actually living up to their suggested name which would seem to imply high energy efficiency.
I have to say that not being modular is a bit crap though.

Check out the PSU guide and the PSU database in my signature for more info on PSUs. vvvv

No power on new build

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