How to ground myself?

[Xxetro]

My parts are arriving in about a week and i have some questions on how to ground myself before i start my build. First of all, how do i even ground myself? Do i really need an anti static wrist band/mat. What are some precautions i need to take before my build to prevent ESD? 

[ARikozuM]

Stand/sit in the corner...

 

Just touch a piece of metal that's bare (like a PSU or case) or metal that is connected to a grounded outlet while OFF (like a PSU). 

[Firecheetah13]

Touch something large, metal, plugged in, and turned off. Like the above comment, a PSU or case works well. Don't work on carpet, and having an anti-static wrist strap or anti static mat is a bonus.

[Tsuki]

esd is much more overblown than people think it is.  dont rub your socks on the carpet while you build and you'll probably be okay.

but what ive always done is basically what @ARikozuM said, plug the psu into the wall and with the power off, and poke it every couple minutes to discharge any static.

[Xxetro]

3 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

esd is much more overblown than people think it is.  dont rub your socks on the carpet while you build and you'll probably be okay.

but what ive always done is basically what @ARikozuM said, plug the psu into the wall and with the power off, and poke it every couple minutes to discharge any static.

What do i do when i install my psu? just touch the case?

 

[Tsuki]

1 minute ago, Xxetro said:

What do i do when i install my psu? just touch the case?

 

yep! you can keep touching the psu periodically, or any metal part of the case(as long as the psu is still plugged into the wall with the power off).   what i usually end up doing is resting my wrists on the edge of the case while i build

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, Xxetro said:

What do i do when i install my psu? just touch the case?

I just touch my normal PC case with my bare foot as I build. Not kidding. 

[Xxetro]

3 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

yep! you can keep touching the psu periodically, or any metal part of the case(as long as the psu is still plugged into the wall with the power off).   what i usually end up doing is resting my wrists on the edge of the case while i build

ive also heard that if the case if painted (which mine is) , it wont dissipate the static if that's the case, do i just touch the psu?

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, Xxetro said:

ive also heard that if the case if painted (which mine is) , it wont dissipate the static if that's the case, do i just touch the psu?

It'll likely still go through, but yes, you should touch the PSU.

[Tsuki]

1 minute ago, Xxetro said:

ive also heard that if the case if painted (which mine is) , it wont dissipate the static if that's the case, do i just touch the psu?

it depends on how its painted, but yes, the psu is always a safe bet.

[aisle9]

I'm neurotic about it and use an anti-static mat and an ESD wristband clipped to a power supply plugged into a power strip that's turned off and plugged into the wall.

 

On the builds that cost more than I'm willing to risk zapping, anyway.

[Xxetro]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I'm neurotic about it and use an anti-static mat and an ESD wristband clipped to a power supply plugged into a power strip that's turned off and plugged into the wall.

 

On the builds that cost more than I'm willing to risk zapping, anyway.

you're making me worry a lot more than i need to lol. im probably just going to touch my psu occasionally and hope that i dont zap my parts. 

[aisle9]

13 minutes ago, Xxetro said:

you're making me worry a lot more than i need to lol. im probably just going to touch my psu occasionally and hope that i dont zap my parts. 

I'm neurotic about expensive stuff. If I'm just screwing around with an LGA 775 prebuilt or not doing something that involves touching the mobo while I'm inside the PC, I don't bother with any form of static protection.

[Trik'Stari]

I honestly don't even worry about it. Every system I've built at home has been built in a room that was carpeted, with socks on.

 

And I don't use them at work, and I've been rebuilding an average of 20 laptops a day for over a year now. (bulk repair facility for public school laptops. We do anywhere from 200 to 500 a day)

 

I handle the motherboards about like you'd handle a piece of plastic lol.

[themctipers]

1 minute ago, Trik'Stari said:

I honestly don't even worry about it. Every system I've built at home has been built in a room that was carpeted, with socks on.

 

And I don't use them at work, and I've been rebuilding an average of 20 laptops a day for over a year now.

ive built my PC on carpet with socks on lol

yes, even the motherboard was on the ground

 

don't worry about it, even if you do zap it somehow you can just RMA it and say it was DOA (dead on arrival) 

[Xxetro]

Just now, themctipers said:

ive built my PC on carpet with socks on lol

yes, even the motherboard was on the ground

 

don't worry about it, even if you do zap it somehow you can just RMA it and say it was DOA (dead on arrival) 

thats good to hear. i'm probably worrying too much as this is my first build.

 

[Trik'Stari]

3 hours ago, themctipers said:

ive built my PC on carpet with socks on lol

yes, even the motherboard was on the ground

 

don't worry about it, even if you do zap it somehow you can just RMA it and say it was DOA (dead on arrival) 

I find that the chance of "zapping" one is so remote that it's laughable.

 

I handle laptop motherboards all day, installing and uninstalling CPU's, putting everything on a new frame, etc. Never had one die that wasn't just dead in the package.

3 hours ago, Xxetro said:

thats good to hear. i'm probably worrying too much as this is my first build.

Oh no one will fault you for being careful.

 

YUGE difference between something you paid for personally, and some POS bought by a school board that has literally no idea what it is doing.

[Tsuki]

2 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

I find that the chance of "zapping" one is so remote that it's laughable.

 

I handle laptop motherboards all day, installing and uninstalling CPU's, putting everything on a new frame, etc. Never had one die that wasn't just dead in the package.

i work building and and testing servers for Oracle, we take ESD super seriously here. everything is carried in a static bag, fancy shit on our shoes to keep us grounded at all times. and a bunch of other policies.

i actually see things get zapped once or twice a week, whether its ram, or a fiber tranceiver, or something else. 

 

for a normal consumer desktop, not really a big deal. but id say the chances are slightly higher than laughable. that being said, its stupidly easy to discharge yourself so you dont ever have to worry about it.

[MadModder]

Always ground yourself before touching electrical components. Some people will tell you it's not a problem. "I've walked on the edge of this cliff twenty times and I never fell off, so it's perfectly safe." People who work in electronics, like me, and actually understand what an electrical reaction is, will tell you it is a problem, and to always ground yourself. That's why electronics companies spend large amounts of money on copper grounding plates, and anti-static floors. Today PC component manufacturers shield components to protect them from careless people. The reason they spend money to do this is because of the vast number of RMA's from careless builders.

Better safe than sorry.

[divito]

Have always built on carpet and/or had socks on and never had a part fail. You'd literally have to drag your feet, and then touch a good chunk of the part to ever hurt it. Chances are incredibly small for this to happen in the course of PC building. 

If you're building on a hard floor/surface/table, then I'd almost say don't worry about it. If you're still worried for your first time, don't wear socks, stick to handling the PCB/outer edges of the parts and as has been repeated, just touch something metal every once in awhile.

It's a super-overblown worry that is more from someone's stupidity in PC building than it is in the average person's ability to build a PC.