ASUS Z790M doa?

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hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#306927 4-Sep-2023 20:26

ASUS Z790M Plus not booting

Hi All, After more than a decade with my old i7 2600k, I have just decided to upgrade to the 13th gen CPU. At the moment I am keeping my old GPU - GTX780 and ST1000 PSU.

I am currently scratching my head trying to get the new setup to boot (it was working fine on the old setup).

My setup as follows:
Intel i5 - 13600 KF (new)
ASUS Z790m plus mobo (new)
2 x 16 GB Gskill Ripjaw S5 DDR5-6000 CL30 (which I found during troubleshooting that it is not one of the supported memory by the motherboard)
Noctua NH-D14 cooler (old)
XPG Gammix S70 2TB nvme (new)
GTX780 graphics (old)

I have tried:
Reseat the cpu, cooler, ram, graphic card multiple times
Reset bios (shorting the pin as per the manual)
Unplug everything besides the bare minimum (cpu, ram, gpu, nvme hdd)

And I have never booted successfully. I did not get any beeps; however the power led light seems to blink (relatively fast) which points to the RAM. I tried reseating the ram, swapping the ram module (in the slot), use only one RAM module and I found no joy.

When I remove the gpu, I did not hear any beeps (just the power led flashes)

When I remove all ram, I get one long and two short beeps. I placed the ram as per the manual (i think a2 and b2 slot)

Do you think it is worth trying with an approved RAM in asus compatibility list? Seems like I need a DDR-6000 CL32 rams or is it a faulty motherboard?

huckster

843 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3123665 4-Sep-2023 20:45

I have a similar problem a while back - not with Intel but AMD.

The Motherboard supported the CPU BUT only with a specific BIOS version. I had to get PBTech to plug in a slightly older CPU, update the BIOS and then it worked.

Just a thought.....

Qazzy03

478 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3123672 4-Sep-2023 21:12

There is this reddit post, not sure if it is similar to your circumstances.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/10hr74k/issues_with_z790_prime_not_booting_to_bios_with/

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3123676 4-Sep-2023 21:39

huckster:
I have a similar problem a while back - not with Intel but AMD.

The Motherboard supported the CPU BUT only with a specific BIOS version. I had to get PBTech to plug in a slightly older CPU, update the BIOS and then it worked.

Just a thought.....

Thanks mate, I will try to get support from PB… looks like either the motherboard is toast or BIOS issue with the RAM or CPU…

Did you have to leave the board behind for diagnostic?

Qazzy03:
There is this reddit post, not sure if it is similar to your circumstances.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/10hr74k/issues_with_z790_prime_not_booting_to_bios_with/

Kind of, but I never managed to see anything on the screen…. It is just blank, no option to get into BIOS…

Batman

Mad Scientist
29766 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3123688 5-Sep-2023 07:26

Plug in your old ram.

Make sure monitor connected to gpu.

Update bios.

Profit.

shanes

258 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3123694 5-Sep-2023 07:46

Batman: Plug in your old ram.

Make sure monitor connected to gpu.

Update bios.

Profit.

The new board requires DDR5 RAM, the old RAM is probably DDR3...

huckster

843 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3123695 5-Sep-2023 07:48

I had bought the motherboard from PB and when it didn't boot googling found the BIOS issue.
PB were very good and did the upgrade for me. I left the board, CPU and Ram with them and they did their thing at Glenfield.

shanes

258 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3123696 5-Sep-2023 07:48

How long did you wait for the board to post?

Sometimes the first boot after changing memory can take a while, as it does "training"

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3123769 5-Sep-2023 11:00

shanes:

How long did you wait for the board to post?

Sometimes the first boot after changing memory can take a while, as it does "training"

I waited around for 5 minutes (it takes 10-20s for the fan to fully spin up) each time when I tried to find the problem. I noted that my ram (specific model) is not in ASUS approved memory list (doh!), but I don't have other 'approved' RAM to try it on.... seems like it could be the RAM or the board...

I had a good look at the CPU socket and I cannot see any bent pins either...

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3123770 5-Sep-2023 11:00

shanes:

The new board requires DDR5 RAM, the old RAM is probably DDR3...

Correct; old RAM is DDR3 and new one is DDR5; no way the old ram is going to fit in.... Unfortunately I did not get the CPU with a built-in GPU (trying to save $50), so I had to rely on the GTX 780 for display. It was working on the old computer; not sure why it would not work here...

huckster: I had bought the motherboard from PB and when it didn't boot googling found the BIOS issue.
PB were very good and did the upgrade for me. I left the board, CPU and Ram with them and they did their thing at Glenfield.

Did they charge you for this service? Did you buy all parts (board, cpu and ram) from them at that time? and how long did they take to do the update?

huckster

843 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3123821 5-Sep-2023 12:24

I only bought the mboard and, I think, the RAM from them. CPU from elsewhere.

No charge. I was a happy camper.

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3123866 5-Sep-2023 14:56

huckster:
I only bought the mboard and, I think, the RAM from them. CPU from elsewhere.

No charge. I was a happy camper.

Ok glad it works out for you. I have just dropped the mobo/cpu/ram to PB and see what they say.

The tech checked the cpu socket pin and cannot see any bent pins (good sign)…

Ruphus

465 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3123910 5-Sep-2023 17:09

The issue that Huckster was having was probably because the next generation CPU was supported by the motherboard but required a BIOS update for compatibility. This was common for the AM4 socket. Your CPU and motherboard combo is supported based on ASUS support and shouldn't require an upgrade as the CPU is supported on all BIOS versions. Because the BIOS beeps when there isn't any RAM installed is an indication that "something" is happening.

I know you've said that PB Tech are looking into this for you, but did you try your video card back in the old system just to make sure that it's still working? There could be the odd chance that the video card died.

Keep us updated with what PB Tech find.

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3124010 5-Sep-2023 23:17

Ruphus:

The issue that Huckster was having was probably because the next generation CPU was supported by the motherboard but required a BIOS update for compatibility. This was common for the AM4 socket. Your CPU and motherboard combo is supported based on ASUS support and shouldn't require an upgrade as the CPU is supported on all BIOS versions. Because the BIOS beeps when there isn't any RAM installed is an indication that "something" is happening.

I know you've said that PB Tech are looking into this for you, but did you try your video card back in the old system just to make sure that it's still working? There could be the odd chance that the video card died.

Keep us updated with what PB Tech find.

I just re-assembled my old setup and can confirm that my video card is still working. The motherboard still post and I am able to get back to Windows...

So it looks like the issue is with the new mobo/cpu/ram

hamsap

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3129404 19-Sep-2023 13:23

Hi Everyone, just an update on this. I returned the mobo to PBTech who determined that the mobo is indeed faulty. They tried 3 other mobo that they have in stock and found that it is also faulty. So it looks like they received a bad batch of ASUS mobo...

I ended up going with Gigabyte AORUS Z790 and the build happily boots up and run..