Recent update (13th Gen Intel) isn't working properly. I've tried all possible solutions so far...
Recent update (13th Gen Intel) isn't working properly. I've tried all possible solutions so far...
So, let me start by stating that I've been building PC's and troubleshooting them for over 20 years, so I've gone through my fair share of things with hardware, but I'm out of ideas on this one at the moment... The Build is as follows: Gigabyte H610M S2H Motherboard Intel i7-13700 CPU Patriot Viper Venom DDR5 5600 (PVV516G560C40K) Seasonic S12III 500W PSU Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe Everything is brand new and just removed from the box today, and I was wearing an anti-static wrist strap during the entire process. Symptoms: Board powers on, CPU and chassis fan spin, Power LED in the case does not illuminate, nor does any other power LED I have laying around scavenged from other cases. No POST, no video, no error beeps... Things I have done: Verified on Gigabyte's support page that the 13700 is supported as of BIOS F2 which they list as the launch revision BIOS. Checked the memory support list and while these specific Patriot memory modules aren't listed, other Patriot modules are, and lots of other vendor modules with the same specs and timings are listed... Disconnected everything plugged into the board(FP Audio, USB, etc) that doesn't need to be connected. Removed the NVMe SSD Re-seated the RAM Removed 1 stick of RAM Swapped the RAM sticks Re-seated the CPU Installed a dedicated GPU Banged head against wall I'm at a loss here as to why this doesn't POST at this point. I don't have any other 12/13th gen CPU's laying around to rule that out, nor do I have any other compatible motherboards or DDR5 to swap things around and try to verify which component is causing an issue or may be defective. The strangest things I've observed with this build are the fact that there is no output from the PWR LED at all, regardless of how many LED's I throw at it, none of them ever light up. Doesn't matter which polarity, nor which spot on the FP header I connect them to (there's two places for PWR LED for some reason). And also in addition to that, probably unrelated but was odd to me, the board powers up and fans spin even with no RAM installed, and also even with no CPU or RAM installed. I've not had an ATX format board before that would power up enough to spin fans with no CPU or RAM installed in it, so that was an interesting discovery(I got curious while I had the CPU back out okay... lol) The board/system behaves identical regardless of CPU and/or RAM being installed, which makes me suspect the board is faulty and that would be a first for me to experience from brand new, but I guess it's possible. I suppose it could be a RAM issue, but I'd expect these modules to run fine at native 4800 and at least POST... And the odds of a defective new CPU seem pretty slim, I've never had one in my life... If anyone has any other ideas, suggestions, troubleshooting methods I may not have thought of, please feel free to share because at this moment I've got nothing. I'm contemplating ordering a single 8GB stick of DDR5 that is on the memory support list just to rule that out as the cause, but I'd expect POST beeps indicating RAM issues and got none. Thanks in advance for any additional ideas/thoughts/suggestions, ~Moddage Side note: Did Intel quit supplying the plastic covers on the thermal compound side of the stock CPU coolers? This CPU didn't have one of those on the cooler despite appearing to be factory sealed(I had to cut the seal) and the cardboard nearby definitely made contact with the thermal compound, not a huge issue for me, just an unexpected observation, I haven't bought a CPU with a stock cooler in a long long time.
Highly likely, I’d return or request a replacement as you’ve already completed all basic checks. It seems uncertain whether the model for my colleague’s i3 12100 included one, but if they didn’t, that’s fine. Many beginners have mistakenly put the cooler in with the plastic component still attached, causing performance issues due to constant thermal throttling.
Thanks for your prompt feedback. I checked the CPU socket thoroughly—both before and after reinserting the CPU—and everything was correctly positioned. Without magnification, it’s hard to see details, but you’d likely notice misaligned pins by the way light reflects off them. I’m planning to purchase another board along with affordable RAM that’s available on the support list so I can test and verify the issue. I’m curious if DDR5 is now more reliable than it was when it first launched; are there still problems with stability or performance? For a business PC used daily, would switching to DDR4 be a safer choice from a reliability perspective? I’m still not fully informed about the current stability of DDR5.
I’d let the budget guide the choices for board and RAM. Personally, I’m sticking with DDR4 on a Z690 board; I don’t see the point in switching to DDR5 just yet, even though I’ve seen some builds succeed with it recently.
I understand your perspective, my setup still uses a 9th gen Intel processor with DDR4 RAM and it meets all my requirements without any major issues. I plan to upgrade soon, likely within the next year. The thread’s recommendations are tailored for a friend’s setup, so I opted for something more future-proof that should suffice for at least five years. Budget has influenced my choice of board and RAM, keeping the H610M range and 16GB in mind. The price gap between DDR4 and DDR5 is minimal within this range, which is why I went with DDR5 for its newer features and compatibility. I’m now curious if a DDR4 configuration would still work today. I’ve ordered a second identical board along with 4800 memory from a supported vendor to test—perhaps to rule out any problems with the current DDR5 modules rather than a failed board. I also purchased a DDR4 board and compatible modules as a backup, so I’ll have options ready for this weekend. I’m planning to evaluate my next upgrade and see if it will likely include DDR5. Since I can test it myself, I’ll probably move the SSD and 3080 into it for some benchmarks to gauge how much performance I can still achieve with my current 9700K system. It’d be wise to confirm whether upgrading now makes sense.
For a standard business setup using basic Office and database tools, high-end specs aren’t necessary. I set up my workstation in 2020 with Z390 boards at a lower price point and paired it with an i7 processor. I mainly handle photo editing and financial analysis, and I haven’t experienced any performance problems. There’s no urgent reason to upgrade hardware right now. The main recommendation is to ensure at least 32GB of RAM, since future applications will likely need more memory as development continues without strict optimization focus.
They mostly handle simpler application needs, but one program stands out for its extremely basic system specs—just frequency details, no specific processor info. It still runs fine on a modest setup from five years prior, despite being low to mid range back then. I upgraded to 16GB RAM, but thought about going higher to 32GB. I’m still undecided. If developers were more careful, they might not need a new machine right now. The program worked perfectly when it was brand new and has slowly slowed over time with updates and added features. I ran it at 13,700 hours thanks to its iGPU and non-K architecture (65W TDP). It should handle the workload for years without fan noise, and I’m confident it can keep up with any future demands.
However, it turns out the power supply is faulty. I’ve never experienced a brand-new PSU failing on arrival, and Seasonic should have been reliable. Testing two other PSUs confirmed the issue—one lacked the "Power Good/Power OK" 5V signal on Pin 8. This suggests an internal defect in the self-test circuitry preventing proper startup. It’s unclear what power rail is missing, but the absence of the LED likely points to a 3.3V deficiency. I’m curious to verify this with a multimeter for confirmation.
Update: The unit passed quality checks at Seasonic, yet it still failed to boot. This raises doubts about their testing process for power supplies.
Wow, I hadn't considered PSU either. Last thing I expected was weeks of assembling PCs every week...Right away it comes to mind the beginners getting all the components eager to build a machine and then facing problems, hours spent troubleshooting for someone completely unfamiliar, such frustration.
Unlucky with the PSU, but such issues can occur. I once had a 360W Seasonic Gold in an HTPC setup that stopped working by delivering no Power Good signal. This happened just two months after the warranty ended. A second 360W PSU functioned perfectly for over a decade before I upgraded to a more robust unit for my wife’s new workstation.