got too high and paranoid late last night and among 10 million other stupid thoughts i started wondering if i should get one of those static shock bracelets for building my computer. i've never even worried about that before (again, have previously built 2 PCs) but what if THIS TIME it's my downfall
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I think you should go meta-stoner-pc-build paranoia level: build it stoned and freak out that everyone can tell that you are not wearing a shock bracelet 😂
I can guaranty you that there wont be a second where you worry about a static shock, instead you will be under ecstatic shock at the end if you mange to pull that build off successfully. 😂
A reasonable precaution.
Now idk just hammer the RAM sticks in with the heel of my shoe or something. Drop a few screws on the main board for good measure
If you're mucking around with a gaming laptop, they are much higher risk in several ways and I'd tend to use more caution
OM's law, if I may.
But I’ve never actually fried any computer I was making myself (20+ so far). Just ground yourself on a metal part before touching the parts and should be all good.
As long as your floor covering doesn’t generate too much static, as long as it’s not too humid outside and you touch something grounded (a radiator for example) before starting your build you should be fine
They can’t hurt but as I’m sure others have said.. grounding yourself first before working on HW is normally fine (except on the most sensitive of electronics). 👍🏾
I'm just a guy on the Internet though so don't put too much faith in me
You can install the power supply to the chassis, plug the wall cable on for an earth point and attach the strap to the chassis. Keep the power switches off.
I always wear static strap when building gear in winter
Dont worry about it.
https://youtu.be/nXkgbmr3dRA
Not saying don't. Grounded is the way to roll.
I'm just saying...
We could find nothing wrong with the machine but the moment he touched it -
We ended up grounding him to his metal desk and the problem cleared up.
He called me into his office some time after - so I walked in with a tin foil hat.
You can get small compressors at any home improvement store for line 80 bucks. If you can afford a $500-$1000 GPU you most certainly can afford some level of air compressor.
(and you'll feel like a pro!)
Like no one does it correctly in my exp.
The strap, without the PSU grounding the case does almost nothing?
On the other hand, I could see enough voltage potential causing physical damage to some components but I wouldn't bet on it being very common. That's a lot of carpet shuffling.
The fundamental issue is that you don't see an ESD caused fault immediately, it can take months.
https://youtu.be/tcRqj9FhgcE?si=3lZxbDTM-3mO6FRr
Just a thought beyond yeah it's a better approach.
For extra precaution you could always build your pc on the naughty step
Any shock that could happen at that point is going to pale in comparison to what comes in from the wall outlet normally.
As long as you don’t get up and pace around before finishing, you’re good.
Instead, I use anti-static gloves and a non-conducting work surface.