New PC hardware won't start

[Darkkhelmet]

I'm building a new PC with the following components and am experiencing an exasperating
problem.

Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply

Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III Hard Drive

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop
Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

ASUS P8Z77-V LE PLUS LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I'm building this PC in a Dell XPS 630 case where the original internals have died. I am
using vandal momentary switch/led's for the start button and reset button. In other words
the only Dell part in use is the case and one 120mm fan.

When I power up the unit the only thing that happens is all or most of the fans run at high speed
for a few seconds and then the system shuts down. Occasionally the fans will run a bit
longer and slow down but the system still shuts down. The MB speaker never beeps and there
is no monitor activity. The monitor remains in sleep mode. The MB status light is green and if the power stays on long enough the memory indicator LED extinguishes.

I have replaced every component at least once under warranty (the MB twice) from the various manufacturers or place of purchase. All components are new. This has been going on for two months now and any help is appreciated.

[RickyTick]

There may be something on the motherboard that's touching the case and causing a short. Are you sure the XPS630 case will accept a full ATX motherboard?

[Darkkhelmet]

There may be something on the motherboard that's touching the case and causing a short. Are you sure the XPS630 case will accept a full ATX motherboard?

For the second board I tried with the board not mounted in the case. When I got this third board I put an insulator between the case and the board just to make sure though there appears to be plenty of space provided by the standoffs. Same results for all attempts. Also, the peripheral connector template fits the case properly and the board also physically fits with no problems. The case is a tank and most parts inside and out simply snap on and off. that's why I decided to reuse it. I suppose if all else fails I could purchase a new case. It's just about the only thing left except for one case fan. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[zburns]

The first and most appropriate question is whether or not the Dell case 100 % fully meets the ATX standard. If the case is not ATX, then you have no way to know whether or not some of the case wiring is not wired according to the ATX standard. You may have a ground point in the Dell case that would not exist in ATX case. As ridiculous as it seems, you have to rule out whether or not it is an ATX case or not. Then you go from that point.

Look at this way. If Dell wants to strictly use proprietary components and guarantee that they dictate what components go in that case, then having a non-ATX case does that for them.

The ATX standard is available to anyone who asks for it, I presume. It may cost some dollars to get it. If you had a known ATX case, you could compare the wiring case to case and figure it out. It does not take but one change in the circuit in the right place to create this kind of problem.

Any computer manufacturer who provides a product with a specific design under their own name has the right to build in proprietary safeguards including wiring changes or different ground points that prevent the use of ATX components and force the use of specially designed components from that manufacturer. I am not being 'critical'. I am simply explaining that you (probably !!!) must have an ATX case in order to install ATX components. Therefore, you must find out -- someway -- that it is or is not an ATX case.

Try calling their Tech Support. If you have a Dell case they are obligated to discuss the case specifications with you. Just ask them straight out if the case meets the ATX standard.
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In an ATX case you cannot insulate the motherboard from the metal case. You must use metal standoffs and metal screws. The ATX case has a specific hole pattern. ATX motherboards have the same hole pattern. All or most of the motherboard mounting holes have a ground circuit connected to the mounting hole. Look at the holes in the motherboard, front side and back side. If all you see is green fiberglass circuit board with a bare hole in it, there is no ground plane connection. But you will see a lot of the holes with a 'metal circle around the mounting hole.

Set all of the above aside for a minute. The one thing you must know is whether the case meets a full ATX standard -- not just some of it. The bad thing is that if the case is ATX, you would have documentation in the manual that states it. Call Dell, they should tell you 'yea or nay'!!

EDIT to last two paras: Assume your motherboard has more than one layer of boards that make up the 'board that you see'. Then you can have hidden ground connections between layers. This gives more importance to the statement that you must use metal standoffs plus metal screws.

[RickyTick]

This is what I thought too Z, but he said he tried to boot with the mobo outside of the case and got the same results.

For the second board I tried with the board not mounted in the case.

[zburns]

Booting outside the case was a 'second' effort. Assume the case is not ATX. Assume a connection he made inside the case initially caused a 'component' failure of some kind; the board became defective inside the case. When moved outside, it was already a dead board.

My point is simple. At each stage of the build, there are certain facts you have to know. In this case, he should do no assembly unless he knew the case was 100% certified ATX. As I said earlier, the Dell specs do not mention ATX. Dell makes there profits off their computers. They have proprietary components (as it should be). They cannot have proprietary non-ATX components and assemble them into a ATX case. I looked thru the Dell website for any mention of ATX and found none. From a component perspective, the case is another component. ATX components are compatible with 'each other' --this simple statement includes the component that happens to be called the case -- the case is a component.

OK, I now see your point. His quote "For the second board I tried with the board not mounted in the case." He does not say he did not try it in the case first.
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My only point in this whole crazy argument or whatever it is, that when doing these builds, you do not use 'trial and error' techniques. You know exactly what you will do 'on the next step', OR you do not proceed until you know it! You do not 'assume' or use 'guesswork' to move to the next step.

[RickyTick]

Yeah, I looked for specs on the Dell case and came up with nothing. I thought the XPS systems were proprietary until they came out with the XPS7xx series. It's hard to remember. I like the looks of this case, but if I were Darkkhelmet, I'd have gone with something new.