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The fact that there are no beeps when the PC powers on, combined with the fact that I think I hear the floppy being checked, leads me to think this is a video problem of some sort. Any ideas? This is tough after 12 days of waiting for the CPU.

It is possible that it does need the BIOS update first. Some boards will refuse to do anything apart from spin up the fans if they think the CPU is incorrect. Are you sure it's not looking for a BIOS update on the floppy like the Proliant systems that Drakino was talking about?