i7 7700K Build - No Signal Detected

[jakon72]

My friend and I both just bought i7 7700K's for our new builds and we're both having the same problem. The computer turns on and lights for GPU, H100i, and Z170 Gaming 3 mobo turn on but neither of us can get our displays to work properly... I've seen some talk about the 7700K not working properly with Z170 series boards, could this be what's causing our no signal issue? I also had an issue where the computer would boot, wait a few seconds then do these long beeps. So I did the logical thing and started trouble shooting the RAM, I found that when I used slot 1, and 3 I would get the beeps. I put the RAM in the 2 slots closest to the CPU, booted and had no beeps. This is when I encountered the no signal on either of my monitors issue.

 

My H100i, PSU, GPU, HDD and SSD's are all from my previous pc so I know they work.

 

My specs:

Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 3

Intel i7 7700K

16GB DDR4 2400Mhz Corsair Vengeance

1TB HDD

120GB SSD

240GB SSD

MSI GTX 980 Twin Frozr

CM 600W PSU

[Energycore]

4 minutes ago, jakon72 said:

I've seen some talk about the 7700K not working properly with Z170 series boards, could this be what's causing our no signal issue?

Yes that's the most likely issue. Your Z170 motherboard doesn't have the most recent BIOS so when it detects a CPU that it doesn't know about, it refuses to work to save damage. The best fix is to grab an actual Skylake CPU and use it to flash the BIOS to the newest revision which should support Kaby, then it should work.

 

If you already have the latest BIOS version, refer to my POST troubleshooting guide down in my sig.

[Eric The Tech Guru]

9 minutes ago, jakon72 said:

My friend and I both just bought i7 7700K's for our new builds and we're both having the same problem. The computer turns on and lights for GPU, H100i, and Z170 Gaming 3 mobo turn on but neither of us can get our displays to work properly... I've seen some talk about the 7700K not working properly with Z170 series boards, could this be what's causing our no signal issue? I also had an issue where the computer would boot, wait a few seconds then do these long beeps. So I did the logical thing and started trouble shooting the RAM, I found that when I used slot 1, and 3 I would get the beeps. I put the RAM in the 2 slots closest to the CPU, booted and had no beeps. This is when I encountered the no signal on either of my monitors issue.

 

My H100i, PSU, GPU, HDD and SSD's are all from my previous pc so I know they work.

 

My specs:

Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 3

Intel i7 7700K

16GB DDR4 2400Mhz Corsair Vengeance

1TB HDD

120GB SSD

240GB SSD

MSI GTX 980 Twin Frozr

CM 600W PSU

Make sure you've plugged your monitor into your GTX 980, not your Motherboard.

 

It seems like something that's hard to mess up but you'd be surprised what happens when you're excited about a new build.

[jakon72]

2 minutes ago, Eric The Tech Guru said:

Make sure you've plugged your monitor into your GTX 980, not your Motherboard.

 

It seems like something that's hard to mess up but you'd be surprised what happens when you're excited about a new build.

Tried both, neither worked.

[jakon72]

6 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Yes that's the most likely issue. Your Z170 motherboard doesn't have the most recent BIOS so when it detects a CPU that it doesn't know about, it refuses to work to save damage. The best fix is to grab an actual Skylake CPU and use it to flash the BIOS to the newest revision which should support Kaby, then it should work.

 

If you already have the latest BIOS version, refer to my POST troubleshooting guide down in my sig.

Hmm, alright. I was hoping for something easier to work with but that's doable. I'll probably either get a Z270 board or go to my local shop and have them put a 6700K in there to update the BIOS.

[Eric The Tech Guru]

1 minute ago, jakon72 said:

Tried both, neither worked.

The BIOS version you want to have on your Motherboard is version F20 or above.

 

You can find it here - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5497#bios

 

That being said, check power supply cables, make sure you have the 20+4 pin connecter and the 12V rail connected to the motherboard.

 

Do the fans spin up? Does the monitor light up at all when it first powers up?

[Eric The Tech Guru]

Just now, Eric The Tech Guru said:

The BIOS version you want to have on your Motherboard is version F20 or above.

 

You can find it here - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5497#bios

 

That being said, check power supply cables, make sure you have the 20+4 pin connecter and the 12V rail connected to the motherboard.

 

Do the fans spin up? Does the monitor light up at all when it first powers up?

That being said, I'd recommend physically troubleshooting before doing any bios changes.

[jakon72]

6 minutes ago, Eric The Tech Guru said:

The BIOS version you want to have on your Motherboard is version F20 or above.

 

You can find it here - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5497#bios

 

That being said, check power supply cables, make sure you have the 20+4 pin connecter and the 12V rail connected to the motherboard.

 

Do the fans spin up? Does the monitor light up at all when it first powers up?

Thanks, is there a way to get the new BIOS on the board without swapping to skylake temporarily? I don't have an extra 6700k laying around... The fans spin up and the monitor just says no signal, nothing else. Pins are all connected properly as well.

[Energycore]

9 minutes ago, jakon72 said:

Hmm, alright. I was hoping for something easier to work with but that's doable. I'll probably either get a Z270 board or go to my local shop and have them put a 6700K in there to update the BIOS.

Do the local shop thing, they shouldn't charge too much money and saves you the hassle of returning -> buying a new mobo

[Glennieboyyy007]

your motherboard has support for Q-flash, that means you can update your bios without memory or a cpu installed.

 

"Q-Flash Plus

GIGABYTE Q-Flash Plus allows users to update to the latest BIOS using a thumb drive without the CPU or memory needing to be installed.
Do you have the latest CPU supported by your GIGABYTE motherboard but do not have the latest BIOS installed yet? This is no longer a problem with the new Q-Flash Plus feature. By simply downloading the latest BIOS and renaming it on a USB thumb drive, and plugging it into the dedicated port, you can now flash the BIOS automatically without the need to press any buttons or even the need of onboard memory or CPU. Utilizing the ITE EC 8951E controller, GIGABYTE X99 motherboard BIOS can be updated even if your system is unable to boot. An LED next to the EC controller will notify you once the procedure is complete and you are ready to boot your system normally."

[Energycore]

2 minutes ago, jakon72 said:

Thanks, is there a way to get the new BIOS on the board without swapping to skylake temporarily? I don't have an extra 6700k laying around... The fans spin up and the monitor just says no signal, nothing else. Pins are all connected properly as well.

Unfortunately every motherboard I've had my hands on refuses to POST without a CPU. Some even refuse to turn on at all.

 

If mobo manufacturers allowed a mobo to reach BIOS without a CPU, that would be more ground breaking than DDR4, Optane, or even PCI-E ever was. It would require a small processor to be embedded though.

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

your motherboard has support for Q-flash, that means you can update your bios without memory or a cpu installed

Oh my god really?

 

How?

[johnny5c]

8 minutes ago, jakon72 said:

Thanks, is there a way to get the new BIOS on the board without swapping to skylake temporarily? I don't have an extra 6700k laying around... The fans spin up and the monitor just says no signal, nothing else. Pins are all connected properly as well.

I just had the same issue on my wife's new rig and luckily had a G4400 to do the update.

 

5 minutes ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

your motherboard has support for Q-flash, that means you can update your bios without memory or a cpu installed

There's two versions of Q-Flash, only the "Plus" version can update without a CPU installed.

[Glennieboyyy007]

2 minutes ago, johnny5c said:

I just had the same issue on my wife's new rig and luckily had a G4400 to do the update.

 

There's two versions of Q-Flash, only the "Plus" version can update without a CPU installed.

serious, i couldn't find the "plus" version in their mobo descriptions

[jakon72]

9 minutes ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

your motherboard has support for Q-flash, that means you can update your bios without memory or a cpu installed.

 

"Q-Flash Plus

GIGABYTE Q-Flash Plus allows users to update to the latest BIOS using a thumb drive without the CPU or memory needing to be installed.
Do you have the latest CPU supported by your GIGABYTE motherboard but do not have the latest BIOS installed yet? This is no longer a problem with the new Q-Flash Plus feature. By simply downloading the latest BIOS and renaming it on a USB thumb drive, and plugging it into the dedicated port, you can now flash the BIOS automatically without the need to press any buttons or even the need of onboard memory or CPU. Utilizing the ITE EC 8951E controller, GIGABYTE X99 motherboard BIOS can be updated even if your system is unable to boot. An LED next to the EC controller will notify you once the procedure is complete and you are ready to boot your system normally."

I don't have an X99 board, I have a Z170 Gaming 3.

[Glennieboyyy007]

1 minute ago, jakon72 said:

I don't have an X99 board, I have a Z170 Gaming 3.

they talk about q-flash and when you go to gigabyte's site they say that your mobo has q-flash support.

and can't find any mobo that they say has q-flash plus in their description, so it may work, maybe not.

[johnny5c]

2 minutes ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

serious, i couldn't find the "plus" version in their mobo descriptions

 

1 minute ago, jakon72 said:

I don't have an X99 board, I have a Z170 Gaming 3.

It is only on the X99 boards.

 

[Glennieboyyy007]

1 minute ago, johnny5c said:

 

It is only on the X99 boards.

 

i know that that page says x99, but when you go to their site, all the x99 mobo's say they only have Q-flash so it may work i think.

[johnny5c]

8 minutes ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

i know that that page says x99, but when you go to their site, all the x99 mobo's say they only have Q-flash so it may work i think.

I know firsthand from my wife's Z170 Gaming 7 that you need to have a CPU installed for the Q-Flash to work. 

[Coldfuson]

2 hours ago, johnny5c said:

I know firsthand from my wife's Z170 Gaming 7 that you need to have a CPU installed for the Q-Flash to work. 

Skit to 2:30 seconds into the video. If you have a white port on the board then you're in business



Edit: Upon looking at a picture of your board, it looks like you'll be needing a CPU in order to update your bios. Thats really a bag of shit. 

[johnny5c]

7 minutes ago, Coldfuson said:

Skit to 2:30 seconds into the video. If you have a white port on the board then you're in business

Unfortunately the only Z170 board that has the white port is the $500+ Gaming G1.

[Coldfuson]

4 minutes ago, johnny5c said:

Unfortunately the only Z170 board that has the white port is the $500+ Gaming G1.

Bastards. I think thats sort of a standard option on most Asus motherboards. I know that I was able to update my Bios without my CPU like 4 years ago for my LGA 2011 chip on the x79 chipset

[Glennieboyyy007]

6 hours ago, johnny5c said:

I know firsthand from my wife's Z170 Gaming 7 that you need to have a CPU installed for the Q-Flash to work. 

well, i guess you are right then. thanks for correcting me! (to be sure, this is no sarcasme)