New i7 build...not going so smoothly

[psychedelos]

I just upgraded my computer and I'm having zero luck with it. I've built 3 computers before and all of them have worked without a hitch (i'm not exactly the most tech savvy person, but I'm fairly familiarized with hardware/bios settings/ect). I decided to reuse my 8800GTS, HDD, and cd drive but get everything else new.
I bought:
+OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory
+CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power
+COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
+EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58
+Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

Well, this is what happens. The manual says that at the first boot up, you have to press the "Clear CMOS" button and then the power button on the mobo. So, I do that and the fans and lights all start powering up for a second, then turns off, then turns back on again. But nothing shows on the monitor. I did some research online and people recommend that you should try only 1 stick of ram. So I do that and I guess it somewhat works. I can finally access the computer, but when I boot, it takes a solid 15-20 seconds for something to show up on the monitor. So I tried adding the 2nd stick of ram and it does the same thing. But windows XP is only showing 2 gigs of ram, instead of the 4gigs that is in. Is there something in the bios I need to change?

I'm completely lost with this problem. On top of it, the power button on the top of the case doesn't work for whatever reason. If anyone else has this case, maybe there is something that i'm missing that you could help me out with.

I feel like this has been a cataclysmic build. Everything is just going down the toliet. Hopefully you guys will be able to shed some light on my situation and offer some advice.
(My thoughts is that the MoBo is defective. Something to do with the 3rd RAM slot.) If this is the case, this will be my first RMA. How exactly do I go about sending back a motherboard? All the screws and cords are everywhere. Are they really nitpicky if I forget something small, or do they only want the mobo back?

 

[Muffin Man]

for the ram, you should have either the 3 black slots filled or the 3 green slots filled. and it should show 6 gigs total.

 

[psychedelos]

Well, I did that and all that happens is that the computer turns on but nothing pops up on the monitor

 

[Pinscher]

For the RMA, be glad you bought EVGA. They are awesome with RMAs. Register your mobo on their site and then click the button that says apply for RMA. Fill out the form and then follow the directions they give you. Its quick and easy. They only want the mobo back. Don't send back accessories because they will not send them back to you.

 

[psychedelos]

For the RMA, be glad you bought EVGA. They are awesome with RMAs. Register your mobo on their site and then click the button that says apply for RMA. Fill out the form and then follow the directions they give you. Its quick and easy. They only want the mobo back. Don't send back accessories because they will not send them back to you.

So I don't touch the RMA option on newegg? (I probably should've mentioned that I bought it from newegg in my original post)

 

[Hefemeister]

I would contact newegg first.

 

[Slaymate]

As far as I know all EVGA X58 mobo's have a long pause before they boot. Mine takes 15-20 seconds or so, I've never attempted to time it. You should be using memory slots 2, 4 and 6. Try adding the 3rd stick of memory back in it and give it some time to boot. It may even turn itself off and on again. What version of XP are you using, 32 or 64-bit?

 

[psychedelos]

As far as I know all EVGA X58 mobo's have a long pause before they boot. Mine takes 15-20 seconds or so, I've never attempted to time it. You should be using memory slots 2, 4 and 6. Try adding the 3rd stick of memory back in it and give it some time to boot. It may even turn itself off and on again. What version of XP are you using, 32 or 64-bit?

Does it take 15-20 seconds for the whole booting process? or 15-20 before something shows up on the monitor?

I'm using 64-bit xp.

 

[Slaymate]

before something shows up on the monitor.

When I 1st bought the mobo it posted fast, just like any other mobo. But then EVGA released a bios with "improved overclocking" and it's been posting slow ever since then (even with newer and newer bios releases). But it does overclock better, for me at least.

 

[Pinscher]

Ya mine takes a few seconds to begin booting up aswell. I thought there was something wrong with it at first but I did some reading and found out it was normal.