Hi everyone!
I'm new to building PCs and recently decided to swap my old case for a new NZXT H9 Flow to improve airflow and accommodate a larger GPU. Along with the case upgrade, I also decided to change my CPU cooler to an AIO to avoid future fan purchases. Here's a quick rundown of my current setup:
- GIGABYTE Aorus B550 Elite rev 1.0
- Ryzen 5600x
- Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420
- RTX 3070 Eagle OC 8GB
- Corsair RM750 PSU
- 2x Corsair 16GB KIT DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Vengeance RGB Pro
Everything was running smoothly before the swap. However, now when I turn on the PSU, the RGB lights flicker briefly, but when I try to power on the PC, nothing happens. I've followed a few troubleshooting steps:
- I tried the screwdriver method to start it, but no luck.
- I've taken the motherboard out of the case and plugged in only the essentials: the 24-pin ATX and 8-pin CPU cables, one RAM stick, and the AIO.
- I tested the PSU with a paperclip, which worked fine, and I cleared the CMOS too, but still nothing.
I was concerned about using too much thermal paste on the AIO, but I wiped off any excess. I'm hesitant to remove it since it's known to be tricky to mount. I'm just really confused as to why it's not working now when the components were fine before.
Has anyone encountered this issue before, or do you have any suggestions on what to try next? Thanks!
3 Answers
A few things to check: Are you sure that the pins for the start button are correctly connected? Also, make sure the CPU pump is plugged into the right header on the motherboard. Sometimes it can be tricky to get those connections right, which could be causing the issue.
If you aren’t getting any lights on the motherboard, double-check all of your connections, including the RAM. If the 24-pin isn’t seated properly, the motherboard will only show a brief blink. Make sure you're pressing firmly on that connection since it has to fit snugly.
I've reconnected the 24-pin a bunch of times, really pushing on it. It looks like it’s in all the way since there’s no visible space. I’ve also checked all the RAM sticks—removed and reinserted them just to be sure.
Check out this troubleshooting flowchart—it could help you figure out where things might be going wrong. Sometimes it’s a simple connection issue that’s hard to identify just from the description. Also, if you haven't already, try removing your M.2 SSDs to see if that makes a difference. As for the thermal paste, it’s usually not conductive, so it’s unlikely that’s the issue unless you really gunked up the socket. If you have a chance, try reinstalling the AIO too, making sure it's not too tight—is evenly tightening it in an X pattern helps.
Thanks for the flowchart! I hadn't removed both of the M.2 SSDs yet, so I'm going to test it without them. As for the AIO, I was pretty gentle with the mounting, so I doubt that's the problem, but I’ll give it another look.
Yes, the pump is connected to the CPU fan header. I’ve been using the screwdriver method to trigger the power on by shorting the pins, but even that doesn’t seem to kick it on. It’s really baffling.