Brand New Built Computer - BIOS freezes or DVD-Drive dies?

[timmylee]

Let me preface by saying this is the first time I've built a computer and the parts were mostly picked out by a friend who's done it before. This is what I got:

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner SATA - iHAS124-04
WD Caviar Blue 640 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3
Antec Three Hundred + BP430 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply

Basically I've been able to get it to turn on and it will stay on indefinitely. However, one of three things has happened so far.

Scenario 1: The screen doesn't show an image. This especially true if it does work, then freezes, and I turn it on and off fairly quickly.

Scenario 2: If I wait a while and let things "reset" for a few minutes, I will turn it on and the screen will flash the Giga-byte BIOS screen image before it freezes and I can't do anything else besides turn it off manually. Sometimes the system will run long enough where I can type and get to the POST page, but that's as far as it gets before freezing again.

Scenario 3: I've also tried booting my Windows 7 Professional 64-bit installation disc, and the DVD-drive's light that indicates it's working will flash and it sometimes starts to show the "Windows Loading Files" image with the status bar moving. A few seconds later, however, the DVD "working" light turns off and the progress freezes.

Is there something wrong with my mobo? with my DVD-drive? What would cause this problem and is there any way to fix it?

Thanks!
Tim

[The Wise Monkey]

A couple of things you can check:

- Make sure all connections are properly connected, including the additional 4-pin adapter from the PSU to the motherboard (for the CPU)
- 430W isn't a huge PSU in modern times, so that may be struggling to run everything
- Check the power connection from your PSU to your graphics card

[timmylee]

Thanks a lot. I'll check it out.

[timmylee]

I checked everything connections-wise and made sure everything was firmly plugged in. I even cleaned off the thermal compound on the processor and fan and applied a new layer to see if that would fix it.
I also used this quick little wattage calculator and put in my specs to see if my PSU could handle the components:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
According to that calculator app, I should be well within the clear (requiring only ~257W) to run the machine.

I'm still getting the same problems. It looks like once the computer runs for more than 10 seconds, the processor stops working. Whether it be from overheating (unlikely now that I'm sure I applied the thermal grease on properly and the CPU fan runs even after the CPU dies), or if the PSU doesn't work properly... I'm lost.

Do I need to start requesting RMAs? Luckily everything I got was from Newegg.

[RickyTick]

[QUOTE=The Wise Monkey;16552]
- Make sure all connections are properly connected, including the additional 4-pin adapter from the PSU to the motherboard (for the CPU)

This part is very important. You do have the 4 pin adapter connected to the mobo near the cpu, right?

You may also try booting with only 1 stick of ram to see if that makes a difference.