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The model I got: ZARIMI Compressed air Duster (its on amazon) So I upgraded my computer's CPU, GPU, Case, PSU, AIO and more a couple months ago and I want to keep my rig clean this time. I could just use a Compressed Air Can, which I did in the past, but they are bad for the environment, your wallet, and they lose pressure a couple sprays not to mention if you shake or hold it at certain angle it will release liquid. So I got a electric air duster cleaner thing, they seem as a pretty good cleaning tool and used for computers a lot but I have one concern. Ive heard these things are really good for cleaning computers but do they produce static electricity. Their not a vacuum, they are air blowers. They have a fan.

I have always been a casual PC gamer, until recently when I took and passed my last two college courses toward an AAS in Cybersecurity. I recently obtained my CompTIA A+, and Testout PC Pro certifications. One thing that I notice every time I watch Linus do a build (or anyone else on youtube), I notice a complete lack of ESD protection/consideration. I realize that CompTIA and Testout both have to explain that absolute correct way of doing things, with regard to any potential backfires in mind, but they really stress the importance of ESD protection, and obviously it doesn't actually matter. Is it all just a lie, or does Linus (or any other experienced builder) just know how to handle the components in a specific way? I realize LTT probably has insurance for damaged items, but I would think that, especially when dealing with these prototypes and stuff that Linus would be WAY more concerned. What is it that I just don't understand about this issue?

Hey guys, So I've searched on the internet about using an air compressor (the smaller, portable kind) to dust off the whole PC. I've seen a few articles or people saying that you should not use an air compressor because you might build up eletrostatic charge on the components (also some light connectors might come off). Others on some forums said they've been using it for years and never had a problem. So if anyone have used an air compressor for cleaning out his/hers PC (or do it on a regular basis), I want to hear out your opinions on this matter. The air compressor I'll be using is https://www.einhell.com.tr/shop/en-tr/tc-ac-190-8-kit.html . (8 bar / 116 PSI, 1100W). Some people said things like setting the air pressure to ~3 bars (40-50 psi). I will obviously not be needing to touch the components or blow air right against them, I don't have such a big buildup of dust, the main thing I wanna clean up is the front grill of the CoolerMaster Case H500M, but since I'm here I'll try to clean the rest of the components as well. There are also some consideration regarding humidity, which is very low for my apartment (~20% during cold season), condensation build up in the compressor which could spray water particles on the components (unless it has a water trap). I'll be dusting off my PC on my balcony not inside. Also another important thing that I've noticed is about grounding , is there a easy diy solution that can help alleviate this (if it's even really important). I'll be placing my tower on two chairs on the balcony and dust it off there. Any stories about previous experience that you could share would be gladly awarded :)

Moving into a new place where it's all carpet and purchased those tiles that is used as a gym/exercise floor, made of something called EVA foam. Would this be safe to place over top of carpet and would this be a much safer option to build a pc on to avoid any build up of ESD?

Hello, I was wondering if there is a chance that I caused any esd damage I was unplugging things from my pc I was in my room with carpet but had no socks or wool clothing on and if it helps my chair is leather. Also I do not think I felt any shock so I am wondering if I could have shocked something unknowingly like my gpu or motherboard. I touched the metal on my case before I started and did not rub my feet at all. Am I ok and btw Im not going to rebuild my pc in this room I was just unplugging things.

From where I live, it's uncommon to find wall outlets with a ground plug. And if you spot one, it's usually not connected to ground. I'm still worried that ESD will come to kill one of my builds again because of ESD, so I bought a toolkit that includes an ESD strap and tried to follow standard procedure - only to realize I have to use an ungrounded adapter anyway. What should I do about this? I'm not at all familiar with electronics so any advice would go a long way.

Sup! I'm building my very first PC ever, and have absolutely no experience at all. During researching I read that static electricity could damage parts like the Motherboard, CPU, and GPU, so I bought an anti-static wrist strap from iFixit. Somebody also said that in order to use the anti-static wrist strap properly, I should ground myself by plugging in the PSU, turning it off, attach the clip to bare metal and put the strap on my arm where the metal plate is touching my arm. The PSU I purchased was the NZXT C750 Gold 80+ and it is all black and feels like there is a matted black paint across the whole PSU, and unfortunately the screws don't stick out nearly enough for me to clip the wrist strap onto it. If I attach the wrist strap onto the seeming painted metal above the fan, will it still ground me or nah? Anyone got a solution? Thanks! BTW I'm building the PC myself and won't have the PSU in the case until the end when the Motherboard and most of the components would have supposed to have been built outside of the case, not touching it or the Motherboard. Once again thanks!

Hi guys, so some of the parts for second build are arriving and this time I will build it myself or with my friend. I heard a lot about PC building problems and if you can give me some advice about build. First of all I don't have some special gear like magnetic screwdriver or ESD wrist wrap or mat... So if you could help me how to prevent electrostatic damage of the components and some other tips about PC building. PC PARTS: Ryzen 1400 AsRock AB350m DS Patriot 2x4GB 2400mhz DDR4 Gigabyte gtx 1060 Xtreme Gaming 6GB 1 TB seagate HDD Corsair cx450m (new grey version) Zalman z1 neo That is all I hope guys you could help me!

Guys. . . . .It is going to kill me to explain this story for a 5th time. I've tried reddit, tomshardware, pcpartpicker, and various tech bloggers. I just don't understand. Please know that my PC knowledge is minimal, but this is plug and play for the most part. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3419749/build-mobo-whats-wrong-troubleshooting.html#19724552 This link is my most recent attempt at help from another forum, you will be able to see the help people have previously, though frankly, I think its relevant. I will post what I feel is most relevant below to streamline any help that can be provided. The parts: NZXT s340 Elite Ryzen 1800x MSI Gaming Titanium x370 Kraken x52 Trident G Skill 3200mhz Corsair HX750i PSU Aer RGB 120mm fans Samsung 960 Pro m.2 512gb Ensourced Sleeved cables The problem; This is my 3rd fried build. My first attempt, with my first motherboard, having half the knowledge I have now was successful. Odd right? It powered up, I got everything installed, and it was beautiful. I then powered it down, and rearranged my cable management. PSU cables remained the same, just added some zipties and shoved cables in places is pretty much all that took place. When I went to power on again, upon hitting the power button there was a flash of all the motherboard LED/s and then complete power down. I assumed it failed thanks to ESD, because when I redid all the cables it was over carpet with no grounding. I purchased a grounding mat and re did everything on sunday. Upon initial power sequence, the EXACT SAME THING Happened. This time, I came to the conclusion, as well as everyone on other forums that the problem lied within my standoffs. My NZST S340 Elite case came with a weird standoff in the center that I suppose should have been replaced or removed. I did neither, so a standoff was left touching the motherboard. It was a standoff with exterior threading and could not receive a screw like the other 8, therefore I thought it was intention and left it. For my 3rd attempt, I removed the center stand off and replaced it using the included traditional stand off and stand off wrench. Rebuilt the PC. powered on and the SAME F**KING THING HAPPENED, so I am now 3 motherboards down, WITH NO FUNCTIONAL PC. I have attached a video of what EXACTLY is happening on boot. Additionally, I do smell a slight burnt smell after my mobo is fried. That being said NOTHING is visibly wrong. Even when I attempted to RMA the first one, MSI just stated offered a partial refund but didn't specify what was wrong. Which I would like to know so I know not to repeat it. If i can, ill attach the video I have of the build during the 2nd attempt. I am currently rendering a high quality video of my ENTIRE disassembly of the 2nd fried build. Additionally, I have will upload tomorrow a video of my ENTIRE 3rd attempt, with very particular camera attention to everything I felt warranted it with audio explanation of what i was doing and why. This video should provide answers. I am literally so broken over this. I really want to have built this myself, but at this point I am $1000 in debt with no working PC and rendering my daily surveillance video per my job is so slow on my laptop. My 45min video I'm rendering of my disassembly took 1h 10m for first pass and 2h 20m for 2nd pass. Absurrrrddd Below are some actions taken throughout the course of the 3 builds that made no difference to the end result: New PSU New chassis CMOS Jump via battery removal CPU RMA If someone is kind enough to spend the 45 minutes to watch it, I will literally pay them 40$ if they can find the solution. Please, somebody, help. ;( The video CURRENTLY uploaded is what happens when it fries. ;( Video.MOV This is the link for the disassembly of the 2nd fried mobo. Pay special attention to the end where I note the standoffs. Video wont be available for a few hours, youtube upload speed is sluggish. https://youtu.be/aJqDMybVZZ0 This is the link for the complete assembly from start to finish of the 3rd fried motherboard, including the frying part at the end. . . . again link wont be available for a few hours. posting now so people who see this in the morning have access. https://youtu.be/qzLFP8n03gQ pay special attention to the end, where it frys. also, pardon my French,

So, I recently purchased a copy of Windows 10 Home, which I though would be a regular copy, but turned out to be an ESD version. As I do not have the slightest clue as to what an ESD version is, I am afraid I might have done something incredibly stupid. (It's non refundable apparently) I haven't used the code or url they gave me to get the copy of Windows just in case. Please help me asap! Thx!

Hi guys, When I'm building my pc can I use a towel or something like that to protect my case? So that I don't have to lay it directly on the wooden table and prevent possible scratches. Thanks in advance.

My parents have an old DirecTV set top box that has completely died. They want me to extract some of the shows that are recorded from it, so I want to take the HDD out and see what I find. However there is a warning on the back that says "Caution, risk of electric shock. Do not open". Should I actually refrain from cracking it open because of this, maybe the PSU internals are exposed or something? Should I let it sit and drain fully of power for a couple hours just in case? Or is it more of a BS warning to deter people from opening it?

I've been thinking about installing an extra 8 GB of ram to my computer, but I'm going to do so on carpeted floor. So I was wondering, would these gloves be fine? the gloves Also, would I just put it into the matching slot, turn on my computer, and be done with the installation?

Hi guys, I should be receiving my new PC parts within the next week or so, and it is my first build ever. As this is my first build, I do not want to break any of the components, so will this setup be ok, ESD wise? I have bought a static wristband, one with a crocodile clip on the end and I will install the PSU into the case, plug in the PSU and hook the wristband onto the fan grill on the PSU. Then I will proceed to build the rest of the PC. I have carpet in my room, but it is wool - is this ok - my heart says yes as I will be using a static wristband, but just to be sure. Also, I will build it on my desk which has a laminate top coating (veneer). Will any of these cause any problems, or should this setup be ok?

I dont know if this is the right place to post this but I usually try to ground myself by plugging an extra power supply in and holding it with one hand while I work on my pc but recently ive seen people say you have to ground yourself by touching the case and grounding yourself to a powersupply is dangerous, which is the right way?

Sup folks, I'm planning my new PC build named "A Faster Horse" (after the similarly named documentary, and Henry Ford's quote about horses or something). I want this PC to be car-themed, and more specifically Ford Mustang themed (plz no hate). I found an awesome model car to put in my case (see image), as it is chrome/silver (I know there's no such thing as chrome paint, I know chrome is a metal and not a colour, but I'll still be calling it "chrome paint") and will reflect case LEDs very nicely, I imagine. However I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea, as it's made from diecast metal, which is rather conductive (I think, I looked it up and it has a metal conductivity of 25%IACS - I've got no clue what that means). Of course it's got rubber tyres, so I'm not worried about it sitting atop the GPU, however I'm afraid it might roll off of the GPU and touch, say, the motherboard, and cause an electric short. So does anyone have any advice? Does anyone know what a metal conductivity of 25%IACS means? If you've got a diecast model in your case, I would love to know your experience! Thanks in advance! Regards, TJ Image:

I am having trouble finding the differences between anti-static wrist straps online, Are they all the same or is there a premium that I am missing? I know that cordless anti-static bands are useless but whats the difference in say a two pound esd to a thirty pound esd?

Hello there, since I am going to build my very first PC soon, I have heard a lot of how electrostatic discharge can destroy you pricey PC components. According to many YT videos, it's a good idea to wear such an ESD wrist strap. Now I was wondering if I can DIY it? My idea is, to connect the one end of a crocodile clip to my power supply which is plugged in but turned of and the other end to a piece of alluminum foil which I attach to my arm and fix it with a rubber band. My question is, does this work or have I made a logical mistake? Any help is apreciated.

Hey everyone, so I'm doing my 3rd build and its been a while. However, I just remembered I have an Anti-static strap back from 2015-17, which looks still perfectly good. Issue is, I've grown since then. The wrist strap sits snug and tight, I can move my hand but I feel like when I'll be putting together the computer for an hour at most, my wrist will become sore. I came up with the idea of adding another velcro strip hook and loop to widen the straps length, and then thought, could this affect the closed loop system on the strap? I know it's a dumb question and most veterans will roll their eyes, but I'm curious. Drop a comment and let me know, pics attached.

When investigating what building a PC would involve I have since come across the problem of esd. Now I know next to nothing about static electricity and computer parts so I was wondering what I should get to keep the parts I would get safe. I know you don't 'need' anything if you are conscious about grounding yourself but I just know I might screw up and rather be safe than sorry. So my question is, is an anti-static wrist strap enough to prevent esd? Then to add on to that, what does an anti-static mat do differently from a band. Also want to know what surfaces to build on if not a esd mat just to be completely sure. So, what is it that I need to know for combating esd?

Hi everyone, I have had this issue for nearly a year now. I started noticing at my old apartment when I would stand up from a computer session and my monitor would flicker on and off. Then I started having some off fuzz sounding randomly in my headphones. Finally today, I think I have narrowed it down. I was sitting on the floor (carpet) and accidentally touched my PC (it is also sitting on the floor because it wont fit on my desk) and the whole thing just shut down. Screen went black, I had to hard power cycle it. How can I fix this? I didn't used to have these problems but since it has gotten much dryer with the cold weather, it is starting to get pretty annoying and I am worried I will mess something up on my PC, headset, or monitor. I have no idea where to start with this and have no real experience.

Idk where to put this but what’s the best way of grounding yourself without a grounding band?

Hey all, this is going to be my first post here and it’s a little random. So I work for Oracle and at work we are supplied these ESD straps just like the ones you wear on your wrist but these are on your shoes. Here is a link to some if you need a better idea of what I’m talking about (http://www.correctproducts.com/ESD-Cleanroom-Products/ESD-Heel-Shoe-Straps/3M-2044-Economy-Heel-Grounder.html) I was just curious if these would still work to ground me on hardwood floor? I am going to be moving into my new place is a couple days and everything is hardwood except for the bedrooms so if I could use these instead of annoying wrist straps that would be awesome! Sorry for the random weird question and thanks for any help or advice you can provide!

Hi folks. I'm looking to buy a U shaped computer desk but don't want to go all out on a Forma-space custom job if I don't have too. Looking for reputable brands, durable. ESD safe if possible, want to stay away from the el cheapo Formica. have been looking on Amazon, Newegg, Overstock Wayfair etc and just not seeing anything that fits the bill.

If i were to use an antistatic bracelet with a psu thats already plugged in to everything (gpu, motherboard, harddrives etc.) do I need to plug out all those power connectors or can i just leave them in the psu.