spark Spark when removing a RAM stick, but the PC works fine (sorta)

[RockiNeedsTechTipa]

Hello. So about 4 weeks ago, I have build my very first PC. It went perfectly, all be it a bit slow. But when it booted up to BIOS I noticed that one of the RAM sticks wasn't properly installed. So I turned off my PC and my PSU and tried to reinstall the memory stick. And then a spark appeared as soon as it was removed. Scared as crap I put the RAM stick back on my PC, turned it on and hoped that it will boot up again to BIOS. And it did.

 

Now I don't really have any problems with my build. The only things are that I'm running my RAM at 3466 MHz instad of 3600, because I could only go up to 1733 MHz on the infinity fabric on my CPU, but the RAM can run at 3600MHz with that infinity fabric speed. Also right now my PC is booting itself on randomly. This was happening for less than a week and I'm now trying to fix it (I'll let you guys know if I manage to fix it).

 

But aside those things my PC works fine and the motherboard doesn't have any marks from the spark, which was between the 2 RAM sticks. But I'm still a bit curious and concerned about my PC, since it's my first build.

 

Hope to hear it from you guys!

[porina]

The voltages inside the PC are normally too low to cause a spark, although it could still be possible if for example you get a high current flow such as discharging a large value capacitor. I don't think either of these are likely with ram.

 

The leaves the possibility of static electricity via yourself when removing the stick. If this is the case, the static through the heatsink wont directly result in damage to the module, but where the spark went after that matters. If it went to a power rail for example, it'll be fine, but if it got somewhere sensitive, it could cause problems later. Many chips will have some basic level of static protection built into them anyway, but once you get up to seeing sparks, that could be dangerous levels. If it still works, don't worry about it. You might want to run a full ram test just for confidence, since you wont normally use all the ram.

 

PC randomly starting when off: I have one that does that, although it is on most of the time so it isn't a big problem. Never figured it out. I suspect it might just be an over-sensitive detector for the case button press. 

[SnowyMus]

I think it's unlikely you've actually damaged anything.

[Mark Kaine]

Sounds like you maybe didn't install the standoffs for your motherboard, did you?

[RockiNeedsTechTipa]

Some of the stands-offs were already mounted and I had to move some of them for my mATX motherboard. The case is a midtower that supports ATX, mATX and mini ITX.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Troubleshooting

[RockiNeedsTechTipa]

On 11/11/2020 at 1:31 AM, Kavawuvi said:

I think it's unlikely you've actually damaged anything.

I do hope so.