First build, DDR5, everything is plugged in as far as I can tell. When I hit the power button the fans spin, lights come on and then nothing happens for what felt like forever before the BIOS finally appeared. I nearly pulled the plug at the 20 second mark. Should I be worried, or is this just what a new build does?
The thing that would worry me is a debug LED sitting on one stage rather than cycling. If your board has the four little lights, watch them: cycling through CPU, DRAM, VGA, BOOT and then going out is healthy. Parking on DRAM for two minutes is not.
It happens again whenever you change RAM, change the CPU, clear CMOS, or update the BIOS. Not a fault, just the same job being redone. Worth remembering so you don't panic in six months.
And after a power cut, which is how I learned this at 7am on a Monday.
For a first build, plug the monitor into the motherboard first if your CPU has graphics, get into BIOS, and only then move the cable to the card. Removes one variable from the very first power on and saves a lot of second guessing.
@hotswap_hana · last wk. · 2 replies
Completely normal. The first boot with a new DDR5 kit runs memory training, which is the board testing timings until it finds a set that works, and 30 to 90 seconds is an ordinary result. Two minutes isn't unheard of on four sticks.
The critical part is not interrupting it. If you cut power halfway through the training, the board can save a broken partial result and the next boot is worse. Set a timer for three minutes and go make tea.
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@bottombracket_b · 2w ago
Second boot was about eight seconds, so I think it saved the result. Thanks, I was one minute from taking the whole thing apart.
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