ESD/Anti-Static Protection

[CCap]

All you have to do is occasionally touch the case. I told myself I was going to use the Anti-Static wriststrap that I bought for $5 and never even bothered opening it. I've moved all my parts into two different cases (can't decide on one I like ) and haven't ever fried a component.

 

Just be cautious and you won't fry anything. Just worry about dropping it. lol

[Legion]

No. Just touch something large like your case/PSU and don't build on carpet.

 

That last one is just for really dry days

[tS_kStin]

Not really. I have one and use it just for safety reasons. But it is fine as long as you do what others have said above.

[NInety]

I just wear medical gloves so I feel like a surgeon while building a PC.

[d33g33]

Every time Linus says he has one 'on his ankle' I laugh, oh how I laugh...

[RhysMusique]

Just make sure you keep grounding yourself on larger metal objects, eg.. case or table legs or something, you'll be fine

[CowsGoRoar]

I just wear medical gloves so I feel like a surgeon while building a PC.

I found that wearing gloves could be worse.  <_<

[The Crazed Child]

In some cases the PSU cannot be installed before the motherboard - this happened with my first build when I was worried about static. The power supply overhung the motherboard, in fact.

[NInety]

I found that wearing gloves could be worse.  <_<

Rubber is an insulator.....

[the ginger gamer]

You don't absolutely have to but there is always that small chance of something getting messed up and so that's why i personally wear one, but it is unlikely that anything will go wrong.

[Superarragon]

I built my computer on carpet while wearing socks... The first thing I put in my case was the PSU. I just left that plugged in (but turned off) and touched it every once in awhile without any problems.

[Cookie Monster]

The problem with anti-static wristbands is they come with a crocodile clip rather than a plug.

 

I'd much rather plug the other end into an earthed socket than hope the crocodile clip doesn't come flying off.

[aricleather]

This is a little project me and my stepdad did to properly protect myself from ESD during my build. Some people say you unplug the PSU and connect yourself to the bare metal part of the case, but that doesn't work. The electricity has nowhere to go. The reason they call it "ground", is because it literally is the ground. The have long metal poles that the ground electricity travels to, into the ground.

 

Anyway, here's the album on Imgur: http://imgur.com/a/sDVHH

 

Picture 1: This is just an old cable we used to plug in something, I don't know what.

Picture 2: We cut off the top two prongs, leaving only the ground prong.

Picture 3: The green wire is usually (almost always) the ground wire. We removed the sleeving to get into the bare cable. Then we used a multimeter to test, and we got a result so we had the right wire.

Picture 4: This is a Startech ESD strap I ordered for about $7.

Picture 5: I just plug the cord into any wall outlet that has a ground prong...

Picture 6: ...and then I attach the alligator clip to the exposed wire.

 

Done! The electricity will flow from my body, to the wire, to the socket, to the breaker, to the poles in the ground, rendering me grounded.

 

This is a really cheap project anyone can do. If you have the right tools, to cut off the prongs and strip the sleeving, that's all you need. Just rip an old cable out of anything with a ground prong, and buy an ESD strap. Strip the sleeving off the wire, find the green (ground) wire, and connect yourself to it.

 

Last time I put images on here for my build log they didn't work, so I just screwed that.

 

 

[Wferr]

Done! The electricity will flow from my body, to the wire, to the socket, to the breaker, to the poles in the ground, rendering me grounded.

Now all you have to do is touch mains with the opposite hand that its plugged into and you complete the circuit! Also a added bonus is that it goes straight through your heart!

Edit; Dont touch mains

[Benjio]

Don't you want to have the same charge as the case? If the case has a charge and you don't won't there still be a shock?

[Wferr]

Don't you want to have the same charge as the case? If the case has a charge and you don't won't there still be a shock?

If you touch the case and you are grounded to *earth then the case looses all its charge into *earth also. So that makes you have the same charge as the case.

[aricleather]

Now all you have to do is touch mains with the opposite hand that its plugged into and you complete the circuit! Also a added bonus is that it goes straight through your heart!

Edit; Dont touch mains

 

Haha, I'll stay away. I don't think I can reach my hand through the floors or anything.

 

 

Don't you want to have the same charge as the case? If the case has a charge and you don't won't there still be a shock?

 

The point is, there's no static electricity flowing through you. If you wanted to have the same charge as the case, I suppose you could make a second and attach it to the case, I guess. Regardless, this worked perfectly. I was quite hands on with my components, only because it was my first time building a PC. I was also building on carpet, literally the WHOLE house is carpeted. I didn't have a single problem.

 

 

If you touch the case and you are grounded to *earth then the case looses all its charge into *earth also. So that makes you have the same charge as the case.

 

Yeah, that's it. I didn't know how to explain it.

[Benjio]

If you touch the case and you are grounded to *earth then the case looses all its charge into *earth also. So that makes you have the same charge as the case.

Well you would get the same benefit from just touching the case, correct? It's not like it matters if there is any charge on the computer as long as you have the same charge as well. Again, I'm just assuming, I could be wrong.

[aricleather]

Well you would get the same benefit from just touching the case, correct? It's not like it matters if there is any charge on the computer as long as you have the same charge as well. Again, I'm just assuming, I could be wrong.

 

No. If your case isn't somehow plugged into the ground breaker, where is the electricity going? Nowhere. It's still in you. That's the point. Ground, literally means ground. As in

 

Ground. ^

[Wferr]

Well you would get the same benefit from just touching the case, correct? It's not like it matters if there is any charge on the computer as long as you have the same charge as well. Again, I'm just assuming, I could be wrong.

Yes but technically speaking then you just have the same charge as the case and neither you or the case at that point are Grounded

[L.E.D]

Well you would get the same benefit from just touching the case, correct? It's not like it matters if there is any charge on the computer as long as you have the same charge as well. Again, I'm just assuming, I could be wrong.

 

You'd rather the caseand components have a neutral charge.

[Leonard]

hahahahahah....dude you gonna get fried!

[aricleather]

hahahahahah....dude you gonna get fried!

 

Explain. I made sure to stay away from anything that can complete the circuit and explode me. All this does is ground me.

[Bagmup]

You leave your psu plugged in but turned off at the wall, congratulations, you're grounded.

[aricleather]

You leave your psu plugged in but turned off at the wall, congratulations, you're grounded.

 

Yep, that's another method that also works. I considered it, but decided this way would be more fun.