Electrical shock from peripherals

[Just a Random Joe]

Ok so i have a small problem. I get electrically shocked if i touch the right side of my metallic keyboard or the frame of my monitor and i have no idea why. My keyboard is a Logitech G513 which i bought for 150$ so i hardly doubt the keyboard would just shock me since it's a high-end keyboard from a popular brand. Same with the monitor, 240HZ 1080P display from Samsung which i also  paid 350$ for. This problem also happened on my older motherboard and on another keyboard so i know it's not the mobo or the keyboard causing problems. The only thing left would be the power supply. It's a Segotep  600W unit with no 80+ certification non modular from 2014. The shocks aren't strong, not strong enough for concern anyways, but they last about 20 seconds from first to last shock. I only get shocked if i touch the keyboard with one finger. If i touch it with two fingers or even my whole palm the shocks stop. The shocks are really annoying and i am considering swapping my PSU at this point but i am not 100% willing to spend more money on a new power supply because i have already swapped a good amount of my PC parts in the last two months. What are your thoughts on this? Is this harmful to the PC or to my unwilling fingers who keep getting pressed on the keyboard to see if the shocks stopped? Maybe it's not even the PSU? Idk i need help =(

[asquirrel]

I'd be willing to bet that either you have an intermittent short inside your case (a pin on the back of the mobo is too close to the chassis of the case; this would normally only shock you once unless you got REALLY lucky, because the shock would destroy the mobo). Option 2 is that the ground in your house doesn't exist. If you have a multimeter, you can check the ground of your power outlet directly. If not, you'll need to buy something to do that.

[Intergalacticbits]

I'm just curious does this keyboard plug into the monitor?

If not and it plugs into the desktop then myself I would think right away something is wrong with the power supply.

I'm not an expert but that is just what comes to my mind.

 

Yeah you can easily get something to check the ground on the receptacle the pc is plugged into.

Just do a search for receptacle tester.

Lots of places sell those types of devices fairly cheap and they are easy to use.

[Just a Random Joe]

2 minutes ago, asquirrel said:

I'd be willing to bet that either you have an intermittent short inside your case (a pin on the back of the mobo is too close to the chassis of the case; this would normally only shock you once unless you got REALLY lucky, because the shock would destroy the mobo). Option 2 is that the ground in your house doesn't exist. If you have a multimeter, you can check the ground of your power outlet directly. If not, you'll need to buy something to do that.

Since i am typing on this post my pc is still working. Also there is a long story of my PC along the years but the ONLY 2 things i have not changed in it since 2013 when i got it are the HDD and PSU, but the electrical shocks have been here ever since my first mechanical keyboard in 2015, so i really think it's the PSU. About the second option i don't own a multimeter but one thing that comes to mind is a storm IN 2015 that hit my house directly on the satellite antenna which fried my internet, my pc still being connected to an outlet, so if my PSU proves to be faulty i'll know why.

[Just a Random Joe]

8 minutes ago, Intergalacticbits said:

I'm just curious does this keyboard plug into the monitor?

If not and it plugs into the desktop then myself I would think right away something is wrong with the power supply.

 

It doesn't. The monitor goes straight into my GPU via display port and my keyboard connects with two usb's into the mobo

[asquirrel]

The ground in your PSU relies on the ground in your dwelling still being good. I'd check the ground of the house first. Partly because multimeters are handy (you don't need a super expensive one) and partly because if the ground in your house is bad then that's a BIG problem you need fixed sooner rather than later.

[zogthegreat]

I would go with @asquirrel suggestion and check to make sure that you have a proper ground both inside of you case and coming out of the wall socket.

 

One thing that you can try is to take a strip of aluminum foil or other thin conductive metal and tape it to the case under the motherboard, making sure that you have good metal to metal contact. Then reinstall your motherboard, making sure that the foil can wrap around from the bottom to one of the mounting screw holes.Inset a screw so that it goes through the foil. This will improve the ground between the case and motherboard.

[asquirrel]

7 minutes ago, zogthegreat said:

I would go with @asquirrel suggestion and check to make sure that you have a proper ground both inside of you case and coming out of the wall socket.

 

One thing that you can try is to take a strip of aluminum foil or other thin conductive metal and tape it to the case under the motherboard, making sure that you have good metal to metal contact. Then reinstall your motherboard, making sure that the foil can wrap around from the bottom to one of the mounting screw holes.Inset a screw so that it goes through the foil. This will improve the ground between the case and motherboard.

Holy shit no! DO NOT DO THIS! You WANT the air gap between the back of the mobo and the case! They aren't supposed to ground to each other! Well, they are, but only through the ground planes built into the screw holes themselves! The components on the back of the motherboard are NOT meant to ground directly in to the case. This would destroy the motherboard and possibly start a fire.

 

DO NOT put metalized foil behind your motherboard under any circumstances!

[Just a Random Joe]

3 hours ago, asquirrel said:

Holy shit no! DO NOT DO THIS! You WANT the air gap between the back of the mobo and the case! They aren't supposed to ground to each other! Well, they are, but only through the ground planes built into the screw holes themselves! The components on the back of the motherboard are NOT meant to ground directly in to the case. This would destroy the motherboard and possibly start a fire.

 

DO NOT put metalized foil behind your motherboard under any circumstances!

I really wasn't to because if a magnetic screw can fry your mobo imagine what aluminium would do holy shit. I think at the end i am going to replace my PSU. I decided it's best since it's from 2013, no 80+ or anything like that and now is giving me electric shocks. Thank you anyways!

[zogthegreat]

I can see that I need to clarify what I suggested here. I am not saying place the foil on the motherboard! Everyone is right that this is an incredibly easy way to fry your setup. What I am suggesting is reinforcing the ground that you get from the brass mounting studs. Brass has an electrically conductivity of 28% whereas aluminum has an electrically conductivity of 61%. Some computer manufactures will run an actual green ground wire from the case to the motherboard to insure the ground is solid. If you examine the pictures below, the aluminum foil is only coming in contact with the the mounting hole and the copper ground connector at the screw. There is no other contact with the motherboard.