Anti Static, do I need to worry?

jason2_uk

jason2_uk

jason2_uk

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Joined
16 Jul 2011
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47
Hi all, all my new kit will be arriving over next couple of days, and after spending a grand on it I dont wanna mess the whole thing up from something stupid like static!
Do i need an Anti Static wrist band, or if I have the PSU connected, plugged in but switched off I'll be fine just touching the case to ground myself? Will be on a lino floor on a wooden table as well.
Any experienced advice is welcome!
 
I've never used them, but i always never wear socks, and never do it on carpet! I also do it on a surface similar to a kitchen worktop, and touch a radiator to ground myself :)
 
Ryan-3 said:
I've never used them, but i always never wear socks, and never do it on carpet! I also do it on a surface similar to a kitchen worktop, and touch a radiator to ground myself :)
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and plug in the psu and ground yourself to that as you go along :)
 
I've always just done it on a solid floor surface (hardwood or linoleum) and then just touched a metal surface to discharge any static electricity already on me.
 
Don't worry - you can touch a radiator if you want, but i know people who've worked with computers for decades and not taken any precautions and they've never encountered any problems.

But still, i wouldn't build it on the carpet anyway :p
 
PermaBanned said:
Don't worry - you can touch a radiator if you want, but i know people who've worked with computers for decades and not taken any precautions and they've never encountered any problems.

But still, i wouldn't build it on the carpet anyway :p
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true but static is invisable so your not sure if that causes the damage if you do encounter problems also if your doing it for a living you have to be kitted out with mats and stuff.
 
Never had an issue with static or never heard of anyone else but when you've just spent some big money on upgrades it doesn't hurt to be safe! I usually stand by a radiator and get the PSU plugged in ASAP, but not turned on obviously :)
 
Apparently it's a massively overhyped issue and you have to try extremely hard (e.g. rub jumpers all over your head for 10mins and touch your cpu socket) to cause any damage. I know plenty of people who take no precautions whatsoever and have never had any problems, and I've never seen a confirmed case of static discharge causing damage to an end-user component (like a mobo or gpu).

That said I always ground myself and work on wooden surfaces :p.
 
when u open up your motherboard it should come in a anti -static bag just rest it on top of that ,
Dont put power on with it touching the bag though :D, you can cut the bag and make it bigger and rest whole pc on it while you put it together
 
RushFX said:
when u open up your motherboard it should come in a anti -static bag just rest it on top of that ,
Dont put power on with it touching the bag though :D, you can cut the bag and make it bigger and rest whole pc on it while you put it together
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Don't rest it on top of an anti-static bag, you may as well be resting it on carpet :p.

As for me, I recently installed a new PSU and cooler which required me to take the motherboard and GPU out on carpet while trackies and a footy shirt and had no problems whatsoever. Still, when you're not being lazy like me (I wasn't hauling a Haf922 with everything in it downstairs :p) I'd recommend doing it on a wooden table and laminate/tiled floor.
 
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RushFX said:
when u open up your motherboard it should come in a anti -static bag just rest it on top of that ,
Dont put power on with it touching the bag though :D, you can cut the bag and make it bigger and rest whole pc on it while you put it together
Click to expand...

Don't do that lol...the bag itself is conductive, forming an anti-static environment on the inside. You need to turn the anti-static bag inside-out, and even then I'm not sure the faraday cage effect will hold. <-- EDIT: actually not sure if this would actually just reverse the effect so the new inside becomes charge free...just work on a wooden table :p.
 
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joxang said:
Don't do that lol...the bag itself is conductive, forming an anti-static environment on the inside. You need to turn the anti-static bag inside-out, and even then I'm not sure the faraday cage effect will hold.
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ye i meant turn it inside out , should have said my bad
 
try rubbing a balloon on your jumper and stick it on your head by the static, would be interesting to see what would happen when building the pc then :D
 
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