I recently built a PC using a Ryzen 7 9800x3D with an Asus TUF B850M E-WiFi motherboard. After setting everything up, I connected three Corsair RS120 fans in a daisy chain to a CHA_FAN header as suggested by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, it seems that the header can only handle up to 1A, and the fans pulled 1.2A, which cooked the motherboard. I switched to a new Asus TUF B850M Plus and connected everything, but now the system won't post at all: there are no fans spinning and no motherboard LEDs lighting up. However, my peripherals do light up, and I've tried the power button and grounding the power pins on the F_PANEL header. The PSU is on, and all cables are securely connected to the motherboard. I'm starting to think the motherboard might be dead on arrival. Is that a common occurrence? Should I check anything else before assuming it's a bad board? Also, I'm curious if there are better motherboard brands out there these days, like MSI or Gigabyte?
2 Answers
It sounds like a classic case of a connection issue. Can you share some pictures? Often, problems like this stem from PSU cables not being attached properly or the PSU not being powered on. You’d be surprised how much those little details matter!
So, did everything work fine before you connected those fans? If not, it’s possible the motherboard got damaged after the installation. Sometimes, even good brands can have hidden issues that pop up later. I'd be cautious connecting multiple fans to the same header in the future; it's typically safe but can sometimes fry that header instead. Also, could the PSU be the culprit here? If the motherboard is indeed dead, I'd suggest looking into an RMA for a replacement with Asus or wherever you purchased it.
I did swap out the first motherboard; it only lasted a brief moment with the fans before everything shut down. With this new one, nothing spins at all, even with the essential parts just hooked up.
I've double-checked, and the cables are definitely secured. Still no LEDs on the motherboard, unfortunately.