Motherboard Dead? Maybe not, check your firmware first.

I have been building computers for my clients and myself for a long time.

I switch between AMD and Intel setups depending on the requirements. Every now and then I come across a piece of hardware that is DOA (Dead on Arrival), it's unavoidable as since these parts are mass produced their is always a chance you get unlucky and it's time to pack it up and send it back under warranty. On a completely new build it sometimes is tricky to find out what is causing the issue if a system simply won't boot, as it could be the PSU (Power Supply Unit), CPU, RAM or the motherboard. So when I recently got a batch of Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 motherboards and 2 out of 3 were not working I was puzzled. As I ended up testing everything PSU, RAM, Motherboard and couldn't figure out what was going on. The system would not even get to post but it was powering up.

2 out of 3 in one order couldn't be DOA could they?

I then finally checked the CPU's (Intel I5-4590), it seems as though the newer Haswell CPU even though still LGA1150 was not compatible with the firmware that shipped on 2 of the motherboards I received. I have to update the firmware to somehow get my CPU's working with these boards but since it can't even get to BIOS I was struggling to figure out how to do it. 

Luckily I had an older Haswell CPU lying around so I had to transfer it into the motherboards, boot to the bios, update from a usb drive and then swap back the newer Intel Haswell and all were working. Problem is that if you weren't in possession of an older CPU then you will have no choice but returning the boards to the supplier for them to update the firmware for you, which really is a pain especially if you needed the computers built and delivered quickly.

So next time you think you have a DOA motherboard on your hands ask yourself, is there a chance that the firmware is simply incompatible with the CPU I have on board?