First build: mobo lights up, but no CPU fan or monitor activity

I am having trouble booting up my first PC build. It uses compatible suggestions from Logical Increments, which include the following:

When I switch on the power, the mobo LEDs come (and stay) on, and all the case fans spin just fine. However, the heatsink fan does not spin at all, and there is no output to the monitor. In trying to trace the issue, I have tried:

• Ensuring all plugs are in tight, and various moving around (e.g., CPU vs. CPU2 on power supply. I think the CPU fan may itself be faulty, since neither CPU_FAN nor CPU_OPT socket makes it work)
• Both HDMI and VGA coections to monitor; both give "No Singal". Verified that monitor works with my laptop, and tried plugging HDMI into GPU instead, which also gave "No Signal"
• Tried one, the other, and both of my 8GB RAM sticks in the slots suggested by mobo manual; no configuration so far seems to work
• Removed graphics card entirely; still no output

So maybe something is wrong with the mobo itself, or even the CPU? I'm afraid to move the CPU from its delicate(?) spot, but if it's the likely culprit I can try to re-seat it.

What else might I be missing?