Another nonworking build. several questions

[MonorailCat]

I went ahead and ordered a new build. The components are listed at the bottom of the following thread:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=195563

Stuff came today and I have spent at least 6 hours on this thing. Research, troubleshooting, redoing, etc...and I am getting nowhere.

With the mobo, cpu, ram, and psu I do not get a beep, or anything on the screen when I power on. The fans will turn, and the LEDs work.

I am certain there is at least one faulty component and would like to know how I can narrow down which it is. I have tried all combinations of ram. Can I rule out the psu if the fans work, etc?

My next step is to go around seeing who has similar components and if they want to let me borrow them. All the other comps in the house are older Intels. Needless to say, I am less than thrilled.

[shadowpr]

Have you tried this: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

What is the exact problem you're having?

[aram]

At this point its could be anything, including your power supply. Just because the fans run, doesn't mean its working well enough to power the components, as they run on different 'rails' and need more stable voltages to function properly.

Try running the base components outside the case (on a non conductive surface), if it posts then your shorting out the motherboard in the case so check the mounts.
If not try re-installing the CPU to make sure its seated properly. Double check the memory too, and just install 1 stick in whichever slot the manual recommends to use first, then try the other stick on its own. If neither work then its probably not the RAM.

Otherwise the only way to find out is to swap each component out individually until it works.

It's a pain, but there's no other way! Let us know how you get on