Do I need an anti-static mat?

[Aidan.69420]

I’m planning on building my first ever pc.  The place I would build it would be at a desk in a carpeted room.  I plan on using an anti static wrist strap, but to avoid wrecking $1000+ Should I also buy an anti static mat?

[Velcade]

Just a livestrong bracelet should be fine.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plug your PSU into the wall to ground it and touch it every once in a while while working. 

[Tristerin]

You can.  I moonwalk in wool socks while building PC's very frequently, up to you to spend that money for peace of mind.  I have zero fear of ESD.

[.Apex.]

3 minutes ago, Aidan.69420 said:

I’m planning on building my first ever pc.  The place I would build it would be at a desk in a carpeted room.  I plan on using an anti static wrist strap, but to avoid wrecking $1000+ Should I also buy an anti static mat?

No, the wrist strap is more than enough and it's not even necessary, I've never heard of anyone killing hardware because of static electricity, your body naturally dissipates it and there's not enough energy to kill anything.

[Touch My Hamm]

dont rub a full wool suit on carpet before touching the traces on a motherboard and you should be ok. But always better safe than sorry. A wriststrap is $5 and can save you days for a RMA if something where to happen. WILL it happen....probably not, but you are more at risk. A mat isnt as useful, as the motherboard box makes a perfect surface for a motherboard stand until you put it into a case. 

[ChaoticChaosx]

On the desk is absolutely fine. No need if at a desk. I had nothing on me when building my system, you can always smack it too discharge the electricity in your hands or any conductive material. Start building!

 

[Retro_R]

If you're not gonna rub your feet while wearing socks and you already got a anti static bracelet, you should be fine. To be honest, getting an anti static bracelet is quite enough for most situation and maybe even extra. I built mine without any bracelet and it turned out fine. But if you really want to spend that money just to be extra safe, go for it.

[mariushm]

I answered to someone else recently, see this post:

 

See the other posts in that thread.

 

 

tldr: no you don't need antistatic mat or antistatic wrist wrap. Just handle parts by the edges and don't touch metal bits (pins, contacts) and try to touch something connected to ground before touching components (plug the power supply in the wall outlet and touch metal case of the power supply which is grounded always, no matter if the psu is turned on or not)

 

also see this older post of mine

 

 

[GwenFX]

Literally lost track of the number of computers I've built in the last 4 years. Have never cared about ESD, but if you're worried touch a light switch and you're fine.

[Arika]

no point getting an anti-static mat unless building PCs in your job where you build multiple computers a day/week.

 

every other instance, it's a waste of money

[The Torrent]

I build my PC’s on the floor on carpet sometimes and they all work fine

[mariushm]

3 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

I build my PC’s on the floor on carpet sometimes and they all work fine

Sigh... it's not carpet, it's the material in the carpet that causes static charge. There's all kinds of carpets, some can interact with socks and whatever and cause charge buildup others don't.

 

It's like saying "I build my PC's with clothes on sometimes and they all work fine" ... because some clothes materials (like wool, synthetic fiber mixes) can interact with leather (or other synthetic fiber) on chairs and cause static charge.

[The Torrent]

Just now, mariushm said:

Sigh... it's not carpet, it's the material in the carpet that causes static charge. There's all kinds of carpets, some can interact with socks and whatever and cause charge buildup others don't.

 

It's like saying "I build my PC's with clothes on sometimes and they all work fine" ... because some clothes materials (like wool, synthetic fiber mixes) can interact with leather (or other synthetic fiber) on chairs and cause static charge.

I ain’t gonna start running tests on my carpet.

 

my point is ‘sigh’ that I’ve never had a problem so much with esd idgaf if I’m on carpet or not I don’t actually cross my legs on carpet and build PC’s.

[mr moose]

Survivor bias is strong in this thread.    You should use at least one antistatic solution, you don't need all of them.  If you build a PC without one and it works then fine,  however telling people not to take precautions is not wise advice.   Take your advice from someone who has been educated in the industry, static may only be a problem one in every 300 builds, but do you really want that 1 in 300 to be when you can't afford to replace the GPU?    Anti-static straps are only $5, they aren't difficult to use and most importantly they prevent you from killing parts.

 

Just remember guys, a certain number of DOA ram sticks and CPU's are actually killed with static during the install process and people just put it down to DOA.

 

Example thread:

 

[atxcyclist]

Since I usually have another computer plugged-in somewhere in the vicinity of where I'm putting together my other ones, I just ground myself by touching the power supply on the other computer occasionally. I've never had a problem in 25 years.