Is your new CPU faulty?
Is your new CPU faulty?
I'm trying to build a new system with all new parts. This is my second system build. The last one was ten years ago and everything came together without any problems.
This time I'm trying to figure out if I have a bad CPU and would appreciate advice. I don't have a PSU tester or another socket AM5 motherboard to test the CPU with. Upon visual inspection, the CPU and socket appear clean and intact.
Here's a list of relevant parts:
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX V2 AM5 LGA 1718 AMD B650 ATX
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (100-100000592BOX)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (MZV8P1T0B/AM) (2 each; installed in slots M2A_CPU & M2C_SB)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch Sata 6 Gb/s 5400 RPM
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (F5-6000J3040G32GX2-TZ5N) (installed in slots DDR5_A2 & DDR5_B2)
Power Supply: SeaSonic Prime Fanless PX-500 500 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Case
After assembly, there is power to the case, switches/LEDs, case and CPU fans, and motherboard. However, the computer does not POST/boot; there is no audio or video output.
The CPU status LED on the motherboard comes on but all the other status lights on the motherboard are off. According to Gigabyte: "If the CPU/DRAM/VGA LED is on, that means the corresponding device is not working normally ..." (To clarify, there are separate status LEDs for CPU, DRAM, VGA, & BOOT-OS).
I have verified that the CPU is correctly oriented and installed properly and the CPU power cables are properly installed. I also tried moving the CPU power cables to different sockets on the PSU. Nothing solves the apparent CPU issue.
I think the problem is most likely with the CPU but I wanted to see if there were any other troubleshooting tips I should know about before requesting warranty service from AMD. I have also requested tech support from Gigabyte.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer! How are you managing the processor cooling? It might be worth checking the CPU socket for any bent or broken pins and ensuring the CPU is seated flat when reinserting it. Have you considered building outside the case (i.e., breadboarding)? Try using a single stick of RAM. I didn’t see any reference to a discrete GPU, did you forget it or didn’t receive one for this build? The thread has been moved from the CPUs section to the Systems section.
Thank you for your reply. The AMD Wraith Prism cooler works with both air and water. For my setup, I'm using only air cooling with a 65W processor. Regardless, I haven't operated it for any duration since it doesn't boot properly. I plan to check the connection carefully. I haven't tried breadboarding before; I'm unsure why I would attempt that. Could you explain more?
The CPU is an APU with two graphics cores, and the motherboard includes built-in graphics. I don't have a dedicated graphics card or a separate one in my current configuration.
Breadboarding involves removing the board from its case. After completing the process, I place the board inside the motherboard box and connect power, ram, gpu, and the cooler. To begin, use a flat head screwdriver to touch the power pins on the motherboard. The purpose of this step is to simplify the setup, avoiding issues like standoff shorting on the back of the board. This allows you to test a very basic configuration and confirm functionality before adding components.
Thank you for the clarification. I could consider trying that option if updating the BIOS doesn't fix the problem.
I upgraded to BIOS version F33 today with Q-Flash Plus. The flash drive and Q-Flash Plus indicators flashed for roughly six minutes before stopping. After switching off via the PSU control and restarting, the CPU LED remained on but the system still didn’t POST. Essentially, the BIOS update didn’t make any difference.
I don’t have a PSU tester, but I do have an Amprobe AM-510 multimeter. I thought about using it to check if power was being sent through the CPU cable yesterday. Today, after disconnecting the ATX_12V1 and ATX_12V cables, the multimeter shows zero voltage when connected to the PSU while it’s powered on. The continuity test confirmed the cables are fine. This suggests the PSU might not be supplying power to the CPU. According to Seasonic, a PSU uses a “pull” technology, meaning it only provides power as needed by the mainboard and components. Could that also explain the zero voltage reading? Should I try another method to test the CPU power from the PSU with a multimeter, or should I get a PSU tester? I’m okay swapping in new PSUs for testing now, but I’d prefer not to do that right away.
So I tested the system by breadboarding. The CPU status LED lights up briefly at startup and then stays on, while the DRAM status LED activates and remains illuminated. I verified without any DRAM modules in the slots and checked each module individually in slot A2, trying different slots as well. In all cases, the CPU status LED appears and quickly turns off, and the DRAM LED stays on.
I also examined the case, standoffs, and the back of the motherboard—no signs of shorts were found. After reinserting the motherboard, I repeated the tests and got the same results. Then I reinstalled the power supply unit, again seeing identical behavior. Finally, I secured all the motherboard and PSU screws. On startup, the CPU status LED flickers on and then off, while the DRAM LED stays on. The system never entered a POST state.
Previously, I thought it was the CPU status LED that stayed on. I remain confident about that conclusion.
The mystery continues. I’m still unsure what’s happening. It seems the CPU appears to be working, but there might be an issue with the RAM. Next week, I plan to test the RAM further, as I can’t perform additional checks myself.
According to PCPartPicker and Gskill, the RAM I have is compatible with this motherboard. Gigabyte doesn’t list this exact model but mentions similar ones, noting their catalog is incomplete.
Any advice on what to do next would be appreciated. I’ve already gone through the standard troubleshooting steps: 'No POST', 'system won't boot', and 'no video output'.