[calzoneman]

Hello,
Today I assembled the following desktop:

GIGABYTE GA-Z77MX-D3H Motherboard
Core i7 2600k
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+
2x4GB DDR3 1066 RAM
OCZ ModXStream 600W Pro

Testing with only these components (case fans and Hard Drive disconnected to rule out problems), the following happens:
I plug in the PSU and turn it on; the CPU fan turns on, if the hard drive is connected it seeks a few times and the whole thing shuts off, nothing on the screen, no beeps or other noises. I have tried using both stick of RAM in the DDR3_1 slot of the board to rule out a RAM issue. The PSU works fine when connected to a different motherboard/CPU. I've disconnected and reconnected all cables to make sure they are secure. I'm really at a loss of what else to try, do you have any suggestions?

I applied about a rice-sized portion of thermal grease to the cooler itself (that's what the instructions showed) and spread it out with a credit card. I've also tried resetting the CMOS by removing the battery for ~10 minutes.

I'd really appreciate it if you could help me figure out what's wrong! All components are brand new except the PSU.

[Zerokateo]

Spreading it with a credit card takes some skill, pushing straight down on the heatsink works better imho anyway but your CPU can't heat up that fast to shut itself off though. Do you have any other RAM you could try? Sometimes both sticks can be dead.

[calzoneman]

I don't have any RAM of the same specification on hand. Given that I was unable to make the motherboard give me any display or auditory output in any configuration of removing/replacing devices I'm guessing that the motherboard is dead. I ended up removing the CPU and inspecting it and the slot and neither one appears damaged. I'm RMAing the motherboard, but if the replacement doesn't work I'll definitely get the RAM checked out.