New AX1200i and MSI Xpower Z270 Titanium not working

Hello all,

I just put together one masterpiece, an MSI Enthusiast Gaming XPower Z270 Titanium main board inside an Air 740 case with an AX1200i however - it doesn't want to power on! :mad:

Upon my first thoughts, I plugged the power in and flipped the switch. I could then see my main board controls were glowing red (there are power/reset/overclock/etc buttons directly on this board). I pressed the power button itself on the board (not the case) and then - nothing, a flash of all led and fans, nothing - total loop. Frustrated, I began to investigate these same issues on this forum and started the following tests:

1. Turned off the power switch on the PSU and unplugged it.

2. Waited a few seconds, plugged it back in and flipped the switch - same result.

3. Peformed step 1 again, then disconnected everything from the PSU and repeat of step 2.

4. Now for self test, just a whirl of the fan and no led. Again, same.

5. This time, I unplugged the PSU only and depressed the power button to ensure the PSU was totally discharged.

6. Now I again, plugged PSU back in and flipped switch to on. Attempted self-test with different result - a moderate fan began to whirl for a 2-3 seconds and green led would appear for same time then turn off.

Now I'm thinking, why didn't that work the first time I did the self-test? :grrr:

Baffled, I reconnect everything with still, no boot or should I say non-boot loop. I then thought that maybe my PSU was actually faulty (as there are tons of people with issues on these and the manual offers little troubleshooting). I then used the first sticky in troubleshooting a power supply on this forum. I once again, rinse and repeat of power cycle with nothing connected now but ATX cable and I disconnect it from main board. I then connect pins 15/16 with paper clip and this time connect nothing but fans (three Corsair SP120RGB via included controller) (only led power, as fans themselves go to the board). Now, I flip the switch and I get a different result. Upon this, I see no LED from the fans - my self test led goes green then solid red. If I am correct, does that mean this small load is functional? :confused:

If so, I tried checking all my connections and they are solid to this board. It is a Corsair Air 740 case so I have a ton of room even with the H80i CPU cooler. I have not bothered to connect a GPU since I cannot get even the basics to boot. This is a new Core i7-7700k with Corsair 2x8GB DDR43200 RGB Vengeance installed in slots 2/4 as per the MSI manual. The main board is defaults so it shouldn't have any OC settings yet. As this is a completely new build, I'm not sure what to do from here. Would anyone assist me with some ideas of what I can do to check if the PSU is actually functioning as expected or do I need to do an RMA? How long is the RMA process if it is?

Update, I had to try something again - this time, unplugged the ATX cable with paper clip in it and plugged in the power back into the PSU, then turned PSU switch to on. I followed the following for the self test

http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122511

Now if I attempt a self test with the button, all I hear is a click which I had in the beginning before I somehow was able to get the green led to work. Sometimes there appears to be an attempt to whirl the fan just as before but nothing. No led of any color and no fan running, even for 2-3 seconds. I'm beginning to think this AX1200i is junk from the get go.

Update, I had to try something again - this time, unplugged the ATX cable with paper clip in it and plugged in the power back into the PSU, then turned PSU switch to on. I followed the following for the self test

http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122511

 

Now if I attempt a self test with the button, all I hear is a click which I had in the beginning before I somehow was able to get the green led to work. Sometimes there appears to be an attempt to whirl the fan just as before but nothing. No led of any color and no fan running, even for 2-3 seconds. I'm beginning to think this AX1200i is junk from the get go.

Quick question, when you pressed the "SELF-TEST" button, what cables did you have plugged into the PSU?

Quick question, when you pressed the "SELF-TEST" button, what cables did you have plugged into the PSU?

The first, second or third time?

The first time, I think all. Second, none but comm Link cable and final after pin test - none again.

Some users on the Spiceworks community feel it may be the connectors. I know in the past I've had issues with memory or CPU not seated, that was when the mainboard BIOS used to beep at you. This board will outright display a number or alphanumeric code if something is wrong. I would think that the i7-7700K CPU is seated correctly, because it really can only go in one way and the H80i as you know really holds the CPU down. The memory is Corsair as well and the Vengeance 3200 memory is in slots A2/B2 as per the board instructions. I can only click them down on one side and they are steel reinforced.

The AXi cables are what they are, the CPU says CPU and there are two of them. I'm pretty confident that one can only go in one way and the other I have to split for 2x2 4pin that appears to also only fit one side of the split unless I am wrong here. Others on Tom's Hardware suggest disconnecting all the fans, but I cannot disconnect them all - the H80i must be on there or the 7700K will burn for sure.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3489501/ax1200i-msi-xpower-z270-titanium-working.html#20032934

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2028759-new-ax1200i-and-msi-xpower-z270-titanium-not-working?page=1#entry-7114174

Well there you have it! I spoke with Victor in tech support and upon performing the self test, just a click noise and an attempt to spin the fan. No self test led at all - DOA.

I had people telling me to check power connections, memory and so on. I don't think they realized that this is about as good as a mainboard as one can buy - or one will buy if they know what they are doing in the first place. I temporarily rigged a CM750M from Best Buy to the ATX/CPU and used my AXi CPU cable for the extra power needed for an i7-7700k on this chipset (as some were confused on that as well).

The bad news? I was then transferred to a Ben, in customer service who advised me that the AX1200i was not in stock but indicated was received on the 5th, so it should be in. He informed me that I was in the correct department to provide him a credit card number for an expedited RMA but that I should just call back in a week. He was unprofessional in that he refused to permit me to speak with anyone else (I was very polite too) and only after I asked repeatedly, just to have it notated that I really needed to call back just to give a card instead of have his supervisor follow up. He stated he didn't have one, that the voices in the background weren't really other people in the office (that everyone had gone home) and that if I wanted to speak with anyone else I could speak with someone in his personal life.

WTH is up with this Corsair?

This was a not an inexpensive rig, it is of very high standards for anyone. I would think the board and PSU chosen would indicate I would be one of your more "lucrative" clientele...