Antec NeoPower + A8N-SLI Premium - won't boot!

[miff]

Hi guys,

I've just bought a new motherboard / CPU / video card to upgrade my existing box. I already have an Antec NeoPower PSU (I bought it about a year ago when they were fairly new on the market).

The new motherboard is an Asus A8N-SLI Premium, the CPU is an Athlon64 3700+ (San Diego core, i'm told). The problem i'm having is that when I hook the PSU, motherboard and CPU up together, I get the green standby LED but I cannot get the board to power up.

It seems like the board isn't doing whatever is required to signal to the PSU to start up fully (no fans spin, no noises from the internal speaker). I've tried running an absolute bare minimum setup of Mobo + PSU + CPU (& heatsink/fan), and even just Mobo + PSU, but can't get anything to happen.

At first I assumed the board was faulty, but the replacement board does exactly the same thing. So now i'm left wondering if I either have an incompatible PSU, or an incompatible CPU (and the board isn't meant to boot without a CPU installed - contrary to what the diagnostics information suggests in the Mobo booklet - it has an error code for 'no cpu installed').

I don't have access to another PSU with a 24-pin connector or another socket 939 CPU, so I can't swap components around to check. The PSU does work fine with my old board (Asus P4P800) using the 24 -> 20pin adapter it came with.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Edit: forgot to mention, I did originally try the new components with everything connected (CD, hard drives etc) with no luck - so I don't think it's a problem related to not having enough load.

[Max Tractor]

The neopower has no -5v rail(do a search) maybe the asus needs it, some boards wont fire up under the neopower if they require the -5v

[Max Tractor]

Neopower spec

http://www.antec.com/specs/Neo480_spe.html

[arthurleung]

Hi guys,

I've just bought a new motherboard / CPU / video card to upgrade my existing box. I already have an Antec NeoPower PSU (I bought it about a year ago when they were fairly new on the market).

The new motherboard is an Asus A8N-SLI Premium, the CPU is an Athlon64 3700+ (San Diego core, i'm told). The problem i'm having is that when I hook the PSU, motherboard and CPU up together, I get the green standby LED but I cannot get the board to power up.

It seems like the board isn't doing whatever is required to signal to the PSU to start up fully (no fans spin, no noises from the internal speaker). I've tried running an absolute bare minimum setup of Mobo + PSU + CPU (& heatsink/fan), and even just Mobo + PSU, but can't get anything to happen.

At first I assumed the board was faulty, but the replacement board does exactly the same thing. So now i'm left wondering if I either have an incompatible PSU, or an incompatible CPU (and the board isn't meant to boot without a CPU installed - contrary to what the diagnostics information suggests in the Mobo booklet - it has an error code for 'no cpu installed').

I don't have access to another PSU with a 24-pin connector or another socket 939 CPU, so I can't swap components around to check. The PSU does work fine with my old board (Asus P4P800) using the 24 -> 20pin adapter it came with.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Edit: forgot to mention, I did originally try the new components with everything connected (CD, hard drives etc) with no luck - so I don't think it's a problem related to not having enough load.

That is what exectly happened to my DFI NF4 SLI-D a few months ago. The board's PCI slot was fried causing the system to refuse to boot up.

[davidstone28]

The NeoPower PSU has weird compatibility problems. Can't remember the precise details but do a search in the SPCR forums and there will be loads of posts.

[miff]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think you are right that it is a funny compatibility problem with my Neopower, as I managed to speak to the guys who tested the motherboard I returned, and apparently it posted okay for them...

I've googled and found people reporting using the Neopower and A8N-SLI Premium together, so it can't be a problem that affects everyone... but I guess i'd better order something different to be safe!

[Noni]

Neopower and ASUS A8N's have problems running together.

Get a seasonic

[Dingo]

Couple of quick questions.....when you put in the new hardware did you remember to reset the CMOS to clear it before booting up?

Have you tried booting with one stick of ram to see if it will boot or using alternative sticks of ram as they may have compatability issues?

Have you checked and double checked all connections\cables on the board?

If you have done all of the above try taking the cpu out and reseating it again to see if that works or you may need to flash the mobo with the latest bios.

[mart_haj86]

hmmm, may sound like a stupid question but have you checked the PWR Switch? if you get it plugged up incorrectly + going to minus on the board and vice versa this could be your problem

[miff]

New PSU has come in (I went for a Tagan 480w) and everything works fine now. Must be an incompatibility between my NeoPower and the A8N-SLI Premium...

BTW - just to clarify, my old PSU is a NeoPower 480w, not a HE model. I did buy it about a year or so ago when they were fairly new on the market - so I might have some old revision which has some problems...

It's a bit worrying though. The company I bought the parts from (a fairly reputable UK company) made it quite clear that they wouldn't accept returns if I couldn't get something to work due to incompatibilities - ie. it's my fault, I should have done the research. That's fair enough if it's an obvious problem (eg. wrong slot / socket / memory type) but my kit really should have worked together. I love building my own rig, but crap like this makes me wonder whether it's really worth the hassle anymore...

[Max Tractor]

You are within your rights to return products within7 working days, must be unopened etc etc

who were the company

[miff]

Well, I can't use the Distance Selling Act in this case as I had of course opened everything in order to discover that it was incompatible! The problem was only apparent after i'd 'used' everything.

The company was MicroDirect - but their T&C's do tell you up front that you are responsible for checking compatibility before you buy. At the time of ordering, I thought I was sure that compatibility wasn't an issue.

To be fair to them, they sold me a completely working motherboard that just happened not to be compatible with my existing PSU.

[just_laze]

Microdirect are not the ones to blame, they sold you a working product, if you're that angry, request an RMA for your Neo on the grounds of incompatibility returning the tagan or sell the Neo on the hexus for-sale forums, they're your only lines of pursuit to regain some of the cash you've had to spend on replacing your PSU.