No Power On After New Build

Hey everyone,

I've just finished assembling my brand new PC, and I'm encountering a frustrating issue: absolutely no power on. When I press the power button, nothing happens. No fans spin, no lights turn on, not even a beep from the motherboard speaker.

Here are my components:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32GB DDR5
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
• SSD: Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVMe
• PSU: Corsair RM850x (2021)
• Case: Lian Li Lancool 216

I've double-checked all the power connections from the PSU to the motherboard (24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS) and to the GPU. I've also ensured the case power button is correctly connected to the motherboard headers. I've even tried shorting the power pins on the motherboard directly, but still no response.

Could this be a faulty PSU, motherboard, or something else entirely? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hey BuildMaster101,

That's a common but annoying problem! Let's try a few more things before we start replacing parts.

1. Reseat everything: Take out your RAM sticks and CPU, then put them back in carefully, ensuring they click into place properly. Even a slightly misaligned component can cause no-POST issues.

2. Check the PSU switch: Make sure the physical power switch on the back of your PSU is in the 'ON' (|) position, not the 'OFF' (O) position.

3. Test without components: Try booting with the absolute minimum: Motherboard, CPU, one stick of RAM, and the PSU. Connect the power button and see if anything happens. If it does, add components one by one until you find the culprit.

4. Motherboard manual: Check your motherboard manual for any specific diagnostic LEDs or POST code displays. These can give you direct clues about where the boot process is failing.

Let me know how that goes!

Thanks PC_Wizard! I tried your suggestions:

1. Reseated RAM and CPU. No change.

2. PSU switch is definitely ON.

3. Tested with minimum components (MB, CPU, 1 RAM stick, PSU, power button). Still no signs of life.

4. Checked motherboard manual. There are no diagnostic LEDs or POST code displays on this particular ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A. It's a bit bare-bones in that regard.

At this point, I'm really suspecting the PSU or the motherboard itself. I don't have a spare PSU to test with. Any other thoughts?

It's possible it's the motherboard's I/O shield interfering with something, or a bent CPU pin. Did you install the I/O shield *before* putting the motherboard into the case?

Also, can you confirm the motherboard is not touching the case standoffs anywhere it shouldn't be?

If you're really stuck, the easiest thing might be to try and RMA the motherboard. Modern CPUs and RAM are pretty robust, and PSUs are usually quite reliable. Motherboards are sometimes the weak link.

Good points! I did install the I/O shield first. I'll take the motherboard out again tonight to check for any accidental contact with standoffs and also carefully inspect the CPU socket for bent pins. It's tedious but worth a shot before I consider an RMA.

Fingers crossed!

UPDATE: SUCCESS!

I took the motherboard out and inspected it closely. I found one tiny standoff on the case that was slightly misaligned and was making contact with the back of the motherboard where it shouldn't have been. After removing the extra standoff and reassembling everything, the PC booted up perfectly!

Thank you all for the fantastic help and suggestions. It's amazing what a tiny piece of metal can do!