Anti static mat - cardboard?

Ive always used a peice of cardboard and the wooden dining room table! :p
Now and again, earth myself on the radiator too.
 
Would a wrist band with a crocodile clip clipped to the case work just as well too or would the PSU be better off being installed and leaving it switched off as previously said? I normally do the above (wrist strap with croc clip) and have never fried anything ever, I grab hold of a radiator pipe or something similar then clip to the case and then start opening boxes.

Thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Stoner81.

PS - Sorry about the thread hijack there :(
 
Either way is a path to ground, so would be fine. Of course, the PSU to the wall is the cheap option. I also have a full anti static kit (Wrsit strap, earth bond plug, and mat) but still just plug in the PC for ease of use. Rarely use the mat, but handy for benching outside the case.
 
A lot of people are not getting the ESD (electro static discharge) thing here, it builds up on its own, be it off your clothes or from other sources like carpet, it then discharges itself (you dont actually have to be touching anything) just like lightening (hence a zap strap is recommended), the damage isnt always noticable, but it can reduce the life of a component/board.
 
Well I ordered a wrist strap the other day, was only like 4 quid. So with that on, and shoes with rubber soles, standing on cardboard working on a glass table, should be fine right?
 
I've not really took precautions when building or swapping bits out and I've never killed anything.
 
well i have to say i never take any precautions and have built quite a few pc's taken them apart etc and never hurt anything,
Its possible but so is getting struck by lightning yourself, unless your dressed in your favourite plastic "le coq sportif" trousers and Umbro bin liner top you will be hard pushed to damage you equipment, Lets face it when we have old hardware we treat it like trash, i had a box of old hardware just thrown in there grabbed a old mobo out of it for some one and its rattled around in there for ages with stuff chucked on it etc

But in saying that you can never be to careful with our nice expensive shiny hardware, I have never worn a wrist strap and im not about to start and have never done any damage, but i know some people who panic if they dont have one, pay your money and take your choice
 
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