Co_conspirator

Yeah, I followed that bench test procedure and it always gives the same result. pause, beep, pause etc.

Same is true for running without any ram in the slots.

I truly miss the good 'ol days when error beeps were instantly identifiable..

So, just to clarify, here's what i've done:

mb was placed on box top so vid card could install flush
Installed the cpu into the mb.
installed cpu cooler and fan
attached fan lead to mb
installed 1 stick of ram into slot 1
attached 20+4 molex to mb
attached 4 pin cpu power lead to mb
installed video card to mb
attached 6 pin pci-e molex to the video card
attached case speaker
attached case pwr lead to mb

Before i fired it up, while the psu was unplugged from the wall, I removed the cmos battery for a couple hours while i had dinner and tried to stifle my frustration...

when i fired it up, as before, all fans started then after the 3 second pause, a one second beep, and so forth.

I powered down, unplugged the psu and removed the cmos battery. I then switched the sticks of ram and double checked all connections and card seating.

tried again, with same result.