General Discussions

[sophie999]

Greetings,

I have tried to update my 7 year old tower with the new AMD processor. Nothing was wrong with the old system, just wanted to upgrade. Everything was working fine at the time of upgrade.

Removed the old 3rd gen intel CPU with ASUS MB, as well as SDD and RAM. Kept the tower and PSU.

Equipment:

Old CoolerMaster case

Old Thermaltake 850W PSU

New ASRock x750 phantom gaming 4 AMD

Ryzen 3700x

Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 16GB x 2

WD 500GB black NVMe

Put together by a friend who does this work quite a bit, pretty experienced.

Problem:

Powers on, fans on, graphics card fan on, two red LED lights on MB light up (CPU and DRAM), shuts off after 15 sec, then back on after a few seconds, then off again. No power to the keyboard or mouth (both USB). No signal to the monitor connected to the card directly via VGA. The VGA and BOOT lights are off.

Tried:

Waited for 5-6 min, but no change. Keeps cycling

Tried each RAM module individually in every slot. No change. Made sure the RAM is tightly fit.

PS does not have external 115/230 switch. It was not touched during the upgrade.

Have a friend who uses the same CPU with MSI x750 MB and the same RAM modules without any issues. Also DIY project.  That is why I chose the Corsair RAM.

Wonder what the next step might be.  Still within 2 weeks return window. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Sophie

[sai_]

Try reinstalling your CPU. And check if you got any bending cpu pins.

[sophie999]

Thanks.

I did try to reinstall several times, and used different power cables to the MB from PSU empty slots.

I will try to do the other trick. Will report back. 

Thanks very much

[mackbolan777]

Unless your RAM is just not supported due to it being 16GB modules, right? Not 2 x 8GB for 16GB total? It should boot to at least 2400mhz default RAM speed. Resetting the CMOS: unplug the PSU and hit the power button for 5 secs, then short the 2 pins for 5 secs. This fully clears all info, presets, you name it. The right slot is absolutely important too, A2 first, B2 second or both but in those 2 slots unless running 4 sticks which you didn't say you had. AsRock is probably the fussiest board I've built on. Never again but I'll help those in need. I feel your pain.

[sophie999]

So, I decided to try another RAM module from the ASRock list.

Can some on please explain the difference between two following crucial memory modules:

CT16G4DFD832A.16FE1 and CT16G4DFD832A.16FJ1

The only difference is last letter. However, when I try to find the modules, no site, including crucial web site, even includes the last 4 symbols after the dot. They only have the first part in the description. I do not want to make the same mistake again and pick incompatible RAM.

Thanks very much.

[mackbolan777]

J1 is single rank, meaning IC's are all on one side of the stick, E1 is dual rank, meaning both sides of the stick has IC's. Single rank is known to be more compatible in general. Dual rank is sometimes tricky, depends, both are on the QVL for Matisse.

So what happened anyway? Constant reboot and never a screen? Did you install an AIO on the CPU or remove the AM4 mount plate from the board? If so, the back of the board can get scratched and cause this issue, which means the board is bad and the warranty void if AsRock sees that. 

That said, if your sticks you have now aren't on the list, they should still get you to the post screen at 2400mhz. From there install the OS or if you have another source to download the BIOS to 3.10 to a USB flash drive and use "instant flash" in BIOS, it will add a profile for the Vengeance 32GB: 16x16GB kit. Don't go above that BIOS version, instability happens. I looked in my BIOS and that was one of the profiles added in that update. 

Seems odd that no screen comes up with even 1 stick in A2 and prior clearing of the CMOS as I said earlier. You need to pull the plug to do it, even if the PSU has a switch. Also, press the power button for 5 secs to drain the remaining juice from the board. Then short the jumper at the bottom of the board for 5 secs. There probably isn't a jumper to move, just empty pins, use something metallic and small to touch the 2 pins at the same time and hold for 5 secs.

[mackbolan777]

I would suggest if the board is ok and the RAM just isn't playing ball, to go with a 16GB kit, 8GB x2 sticks. For some reason your CPU will like that better and 32GB is way overkill unless you want to do serious video editing or run a server type thing.

[sophie999]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I need this for work, and 32GB RAM is much more preferrable.

I have not yet tried to to CMOS reboot. Will try after work today. But i need this work ASAP (COVID, need to have the ability to work from home), so considering next step ahead of time. I also have 8GB DDR4 modules in another machine at home. Will try that later today. If no luck, will try to exchange the MB, but also will try to pick up RAM modules from the QVL list. 

Thanks

[sophie999]

Nothing seems damaged. I have carefully installed CPU and then included fan. 

No USB or VGA power. Constant reboots. No screen signal. CPU and DRAM warning lights are on. Does not display any signal on the screen. All fans work, including graphics card fan.

Will test another memory stick today. Then CMOS reboot. Then will try to exchange MB and RAM modules. Will likely keep the same MB but get RAM from the ASRock list. Does that sound reasonable?

[mackbolan777]

Yep, AsRock is not my favorite after 2 boards. This one and an Intel 1151 that burned a RAM slot. If you need to try new RAM, I highly recommend using a 16GB kit (8GBx2) single sided(rank) modules. Ryzen CPU's can be finicky when using 16GB sticks or going to 64GB or more. That CPU can only handle 64GB. If you really need 32GB, try a 4x8GB kit, using 2 sticks one in A2 the other in B2 to get it setup. When you do get a screen do update to the 3.20 BIOS. There's an AMD micro code update you'll want. If you get the thing to boot and install the OS, I recommend not using the AsRock Utility for Windows, make any adjustments directly via the BIOS, even fans. That program is buggy and will have you downloading BIOS updates you don't want. Grab the latest AMD chipset drivers from AMD under "chipset" not GPU. You need that driver first.

I looked up a compatible set of a brand I use now and found this kit was used in a review on your AsRock board off a know Etailer that begins with an "A":

TEAMGROUP Memory D4 3200 16GB C16 Team Vulcan Z Grey K2

Not listed on the QVL per se but they do work out of the box. Set XMP and go. $54, can't go wrong. The QVL is from 2019, so newer stuff isn't there and some kits they haven't tested. That's why I'm shocked sorta that the stuff you have won't post. But 16GB dual rank, like I said the CPU might not like it or you need to update the BIOS to 3.20 first. Maybe your friend has a stick of any DDR4 lying around you can try to just verify all is ok? If you buy the above RAM or you try other RAM and it doesn't work, I would look at RMA'ing the board or return it/exchange it for a different brand. I can advise on brand if you need. X570 is cool for PCIe4 and Gen 4 PCIe M.2 SSD's, that's about it. So 550 chipset is fine too.

Just a check list you probably did: Check all mainboard connections, especially the 8 pin at the top. Reseat the GPU and check the plug(s). Make sure the CPU installed ok, fully seated, cooler on right (the stock one can be tough). 

Just saw that you really need 32GB, so you can use 2 of these kits or find the same speed by this brand in 2x16GB kit. I just know this brand is excellent and compatible regardless of the QVL. Hynix is another brand trustworthy. Cmos clearing is a must when you fail on this board. But I would still peek at whether there might be a motherboard standoff touching the board. 20+ years building and I've done it.

[mackbolan777]

Oh, you reused your case. Make sure there's no brass board standoff shorting the board. The board is not touching any metal other than the standoffs needed. If so, remove said standoffs, even if you snap them, reinstall the board and all should be fine.

[sophie999]

Resolution:

Tried everything suggested in the thread. Also tried 8Gb RAM module from another PC. No luck. No visible damages to the MB. Unable to boot.

I went back to the store and exchanged MB for a similarly priced x750 MSI board. Everything else was left from the prior set up. Worked right away, even though the RAM I originally purchased is not on the QVL list for MSI as well.

Not sure what was wrong. Maybe damaged MB. Maybe RAM modules incompatible with it. But everything seems to work fine now. 

Thanks everyone for your support. I guess MSI and ASUS are the MB for me to use, although it may just had been a lemon.

Cheers

[mackbolan777]

Glad you went that way. AsRock had quite a few lemons with your board and mine. RAM learning reboots drove me nuts, took 4 months to get my RAM to run at advertised speed due to some BIOS update that needed to be done. AsRock support is a joke. TeamGroup who makes my RAM told me to RMA or get a different board. I was going to recommend you change the board, but really seemed like it might work... You'll be much happier with MSI or ASUS, the latter has poor customer support. Gigabyte is my favorite board maker but to get an X570 was like $260 and I got this for $149 on sale. Looking back, the extra $111 would've been worth it. Enjoy!

[mackbolan777]

I have the X570 Phantom Gaming 4S. They are similar and the problem is the RAM. Corsair:GX4M2Z3200C16 ver 3.31 is the only one on the QVL. Not saying it won't work though. I went through hoops trying to get my TeamDark Extreeme Gaming 3733 DDR4 working, like 3 months worth of hell. First, reset the CMOS with one stick in. Power it on and it should shutdown/turn on about 8 times before you get a screen. See if it shows as 3200mhz. If it does, shut down add the second stick and start it up again. It should post or do the shutdown/restart thing until a screen comes up. 

If it starts but shows up as 2400mhz, do the same as above just to get both sticks online in BIOS. Once into BIOS, under OC Tweaker, enable XMP for those modules, if there's a profile. Set your time/date, boot sequence, and install the OS before messing with PBO or anything else. These boards do "machine learning" they post repeatedly trying to figure your RAM out. 2 red lights means a RAM issue, but not a bad one since it doesn't freeze.

If there is no XMP profile, set the RAM manually by selecting the speed (3200), then the voltage to what the box says(1.35-1.5v) then set the timings the first set of numbers is all (16-16-16-16-59), the last number is RAS. It doesn't tell you like it says on the RAM box. There's 4 identical numbers, then the larger RAS. 

You may need to reclear the CMOS a few times until you get it but it should go. Bent pins, doubtful or it wouldn't cycle. Sorry for repeat editing, I was reading your manual to see if it matched mine, it does.

[mackbolan777]

Make sure to install the A2 slot stick first, then B2. not the one closest to the CPU, the next one, then skip a slot, that's where the next one goes or it'll never boot.

[elstaci]

Deleted my reply after I read that you found a Motherboard (MSI) that worked.:smileyhappy: