P55-GD80 Won't POST; Bad Board?

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Chango

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Hi, all.  I'm in the process of putting a new system together, and am running into first-boot POST issues.  Here are the base system stats (all new components):

MSI P55-GD80
Core i7-870
Super Talent DDR3-1333 (Samsung chips), in 4GB sticks
FX ATI Radeon HD 4650 PCI-Express Card
450W ATX PS

The behavior, after much experimentation:

1. If the system is started with sticks in DIMM slots 1 and 3 (or all 4 slots), it gets to state D4 (first memory diagnostic), shuts down, and then attempts to reboot after a few seconds.  It does this until manually shut down.

2. In any other configuration (including 1 stick in DIMM slot 1), it doesn't get past state FF.  In particular, it gets to FF and then happily sits there indefinitely (no automatic reboot).

3. Among the things which do not appear to make a difference, we have:
  a. Adding/removing hard drives.
  b. Adding/removing the video card.
  c. Swapping memory sticks (I have 4, and have tried all combinations of 1, 2, and 4 sticks).
  d. Using single slots other than DIMM 1 (shouldn't work anyway, but I have tried).
  e. Clearing the CMOS.
  f. Reseating everything (including internal/external power cables, memory, etc.) multiple times in multiple orders.

The fact that memory in DIMM 1 alone goes to FF, and DIMMs 1/3 or 1/2/3/4 goes to D4 invites the hypothesis that DIMM slot 1 is bad, and not being properly detected.  (Perhaps in dual mode it detects the sticks, but then fails on memory check.  That's just speculation.)  The invariance of the phenomenon to the choice of sticks suggests that the itself RAM isn't at fault, and the invariance to adding/removing everything else suggests that the mainboard is the issue.  Is this a DOA board, or are there other possibilities I should explore?

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
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Did you test the board outside the case on a non-conducting surface in barebone configuration?

Can you try a different kind of DDR3 memory modules to rule out potential compatibility problems?

invites the hypothesis that DIMM slot 1 is bad,
Click to expand...

A problem with the CPU or its memory controller is another possible explanation.
 
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Testing outside the case on a non-conductive surface (or, for that matter, propped upright) produced the same results.  Per the suggestions, have ordered a better power supply; vis a vis memory, I don't have any other DDR3 around, but will see what I can scrounge.  OTOH, is there a good reason to expect compatibility issues w/memory under these conditions?  AFAICT, this is standard stuff, the speed is supported by the board, and I'm running everything at default settings.  Pretty sad situation if you can't expect to get through POST under a vanilla configuration these days.

Blech.  I've been out of the loop on desktop hardware for a few years, and forgot that this instantly reverts you to de facto n00b status....  :-/  Thanks for the input -- will post an update when I've got one.

 
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You've probably read this in the manual already, but this is for the benefit of new P55 builders or soon-to-be's. Before initial startup, remove the PSU power cord & clear CMOS, have only 'one' stick memory in the first black slot next to the CPU (this is actually the 'second' slot from the CPU) designated DIMM1. :-))

MemoryLynfield.jpg
 
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OK, the mystery appears to be solved.  The power supply was not the culprit (though I replaced it with a much better one anyway), nor the board: it turned out to be a RAM issue after all.  I overlooked the fact that this board apparently does not support ECC RAM; some desktop boards do (even if they don't support the error correction feature), but this one seems not to.  Swapping in a non-ECC stick immediately fixed the problem. 

So, this one looks like a PBCAK on my part.  Thanks to all of you for your suggestions....

 
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Mh.  ECC Support is rather a question to be asked to the CPU's memory controller.  It has not that much to do with the board here.

Check page 14:

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/322164.pdf
 
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Well, I keep seeing claims that some boards support ECC memory in non-ECC mode (even when the memory controller doesn't - supposedly the ECC mode can be disabled as a BIOS setting).  I'm obviously new to this generation of desktop HW, though, so perhaps these are false rumors.  (This board's BIOS lacks any such setting, FWIW, so I suppose this is neither here nor there!)
 
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Well, I keep seeing claims that some boards support ECC memory in non-ECC mode (even when the memory controller doesn't - supposedly the ECC mode can be disabled as a BIOS setting).
Click to expand...

The memory controller needs to be able to support it (condition #1) and if the memory controller supports it, the BIOS must have support for it as well (condition #2).

The memory controller on X58/P55 Boards is part of the processor.  And as you can see in the datasheet (see my link above), your's doesn't support ECC.  So basically, no BIOS in the world will change that.

 
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I'm glad that you have managed to narrow down the problem. I would advice you that it is better to do more research on the item you are interested in before buying. This will help you to understand the specs and support better.
 
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HU16E said:
You've probably read this in the manual already, but this is for the benefit of new P55 builders or soon-to-be's. Before initial startup, remove the PSU power cord & clear CMOS, have only 'one' stick memory in the first black slot next to the CPU (this is actually the 'second' slot from the CPU) designated DIMM1. :-))

MemoryLynfield.jpg
Click to expand...

But what does that mean though?  The way it reads to me is that when you're using multiple sticks of RAM, to fill slot 1 first.  Are you suggesting that you need to put in just 1 stick, fire up the system, assuming it boots ok, shut it down and fill the other slots as needed?

Then again, the manual does say "When you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a cooler attached on the top
to prevent overheating.".  So I better attach the cooler to the CPU first before I put the CPU in.  ;D
 
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