New build - won't POST

[Peerzy]

Hi all,

I'm building a PC for a friend's daughter. I'm very comfortable building PCs and work within IT but this has be stumped. Spec below:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G CPU
Gigabyte B450M DS3H V2 Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix 3200Mhz 16GB RAM
WD Blue SN550 500GB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 SSD
Corsair CX-F RGB Series 650W 80 Plus Bronze Fully Modular PSU

All went together fine without any issues except..... it won't POST at all. CPU fan spins, motherboard lights up, no beeps from the speaker and no output from either the DVI or HDMI port. So far I've tried:

* 2 different monitors
* Changed PSU
* Removed everything plugged in apart from video and power, inc internal connectors like HDD LED, front USB etc....
* Tried without RAM, with only 1 stick of RAM
* Removed NMVe SSD

So I'm left with a PSU connected to the motherboard and CPU, with just power and DVI plugged into the machine and I'm still getting no output, beeps etc.... My only thought is the CPU is only supported from BIOS F61 which was released about 6 months ago, maybe the stock was old and it has an old BIOS - but how can I check / update without a valid CPU? I'm not even sure if what I'm seeing is what would happen with a BIOS that doesn't support the CPU though.

That leaves me to think it's either the motherboard (which lights up) or the CPU (fan spins up)..... how do I get about diagnosing that? I don't have another CPU or motherboard to test?

 

[Peerzy]

Checking the box out it says AMD Ryzen 3000 desktop ready so that seems old but it's impossible to tell when it was manufactured from what I can see.

Would you not expect to at least see the Gigabyte logo or something even with an incompatible CPU (or will it just flat out refuse to do anything)?

I'm guessing as I'm using the iGPU that does make sense.

Gigabyte seem to suggest I can try something called Q-Flash which the board does support. If I fit any sort of GPU (to get video) I wonder if that would help? Anyone used Q-Flash or know anything about it?

Sending off for a CPU seems a bit long winded and I wanted to get the build finished ASAP!

Edit: Board is brand new but not from OcUK, would probably take longer to get them to collect, flash BIOS and return than use the AMD kit.

 

[Peerzy]

Tried a random GPU I had (HD 5450 apparently) but that still gives no output.

Looks like I'll need to send off for the AMD kit, bah.

 

[Peerzy]

Return the board and get the B450 mortar max which is cheap but better quality and also comes with bios flashback.

Everything has already been opened and had bits plugged in so I can't see the supplier taking it back.

Annoying AMD have come back and say I must contact the motherboard manufacturer first and see if they will help. I then need to take photos of the actual CPU (well, it's got a massive cooler sitting on top of it). The email also has a list of qualifying CPUs and the 5600G isn't on there (only the 5600X) so I'm sure that'll be another argument!

 

[Peerzy]

I bet you wish you'd checked that first now huh?

Oh well, lesson learned, you wont do that again.

Hmmm well, I kinda did. I checked the motherboard website and saw it had been supported for about 6 months so thought it would be fine. I've done this many times in the past and despite all the warnings about having to update the BIOS, get a boot kit etc... it's never been needed.

My Ryzen 5000 series build wouldn't POST without a BIOS update on B550 never mind B450, but it has a facility to update the BIOS even without a CPU present using a special USB port. Gigabyte Q-Flash Plus, see if your board has it?

Thanks, that's handy to know that it not pPOSTing is the 'expected behaviour' without the BIOS update.

I've actually realised I have a 3200G from an OEM PC lying around so I've just gone to swap that over and the heatsink is stuck so strongly to the CPU that in removing it from the motherboard it's pulled the whole CPU out as well (with the socket locked)! Thankfully all pins appear to be fine but I now have a 3200G stuck to a heatsink that I need to pry apart!

 

[Peerzy]

Always turn on the pc for a bit before you do something like that, will make the thermal paste go back to a soft compound, if it's been left a while, especially in this colder weather, it'll be like concrete!

And twist don't pull!

The PC had been off for about 3 months and is the garage! Twisting did nothing (I checked about 10 times and was thinking maybe something is caught).

10 minutes with a hairdryer and razer blade and it's still not separating so I may have to rethink. Putting it in the oven feels a bit :-\

 

[Peerzy]

These all sound like fantastic ways to destroy a CPU!

 

[Peerzy]

Another 5 minutes of heat directly onto the CPU and it came away, too hot to touch at the moment though!

Think I'll turn the 5600G PC on for 5 minutes before trying to remove that one!

From what I can see both the 3200G and the motherboard it came from look completely fine, I guess I'll find out later today when I try the 3200G in the new motherboard to update the BIOS and then pop it back into the OEM PC.

I didn't want to place the 3200G and heatsink directly into the new motherboard as I couldn't be sure it would line up correctly.

 

[Peerzy]

Well, the 3200G works and the BIOS is currently being updated (was F1 which is the first release and from Aug 2020), let's see if this fixes the issue and the 3200G goes back into the OEM PC and that works!

 

[Peerzy]

Success, 5600G working in new build after BIOS update - thanks all.

Rather annoyingly the OEM PC case only allows top down access and the CPU mounting bracket that sits under the motherboard came off so I've gotta take the whole motherboard out now.....urgh.

 

[Peerzy]

Result, its just one thing after another .

Where did you get the 3200g from ?

OEM PC I had spare that came from a client who upgraded, it did the job. SFF case with access from only 1 side so it's pretty tight and an annoying job to get the motherboard out but all done now. I'll fire it up later but all looks fine.

 

[Peerzy]

think bios update required

Cheers, will give that a go.