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How to properly ground yourself while building a pc?

Hey, the parts for my computer are arriving tommorrow and I only found out about having to ground yourself while building the computer today :s-smilie:

I am going to be building the computer on a stone tiled floor with all of the components on a wooden table. There will be no pipes/radiators in the area that I am building the computer (In the kitchen).

I also don't want to have to go and buy an anti-static wrist band.

So, how would I go about grounding myself?
Reply 1
If you're not buying awristband just touch an unpainted metal section of the case to discharge yourself
Reply 2
Do it naked - prevents any electrostatic build up from clothes rubbing.
just go and buy the wristband.....

I'm assuming you've spent a lot of money on the various components.....a £1.50 wristband that will stop you destroying hundreds of pounds of hardware isn't much to ask tbh
Reply 4
Original post by Darkphilosopher
Hey, the parts for my computer are arriving tommorrow and I only found out about having to ground yourself while building the computer today :s-smilie:

I am going to be building the computer on a stone tiled floor with all of the components on a wooden table. There will be no pipes/radiators in the area that I am building the computer (In the kitchen).

I also don't want to have to go and buy an anti-static wrist band.

So, how would I go about grounding myself?


Why would you ground yourself if the pc is disconnected from the socket while you're assembling it?
Original post by Stirlo
If you're not buying awristband just touch an unpainted metal section of the case to discharge yourself


Does the case need to be connected to anything other than the table its on?
Original post by freefrag
Why would you ground yourself if the pc is disconnected from the socket while you're assembling it?


apparently static can fry the components :frown:
Original post by infernalcradle
just go and buy the wristband.....

I'm assuming you've spent a lot of money on the various components.....a £1.50 wristband that will stop you destroying hundreds of pounds of hardware isn't much to ask tbh


The nearest electronics shop is 10 miles away and getting there is inconvenient.
Original post by freefrag
Why would you ground yourself if the pc is disconnected from the socket while you're assembling it?


Because you could still destroy the PC parts. One thing I've heard of people doing is to plug their Power lead in, with the switch off and then they continue along with the work. The theory is that by doing so, you are grounded
Original post by Darkphilosopher
The nearest electronics shop is 10 miles away and getting there is inconvenient.


perhaps get one of them ordered in....as most places will do next-day delivery....

but all you need to do in theory is to not have anything that will cause static build up...so doing it naked "should" work.....and make sure a part of you is touching a piece of metal at all times so any charge is safely gone.....
You can discharge any build-up by grounding yourself on the nearest radiator.

Best advice I can think of: Don't directly touch the pins of the CPU. The heat sink may come with pre-applied thermal grease - avoid touching this as well. Avoid directly touching the chips on your DIMMS (memory) too. Handle the edges of DIMM between finger and thumb.

Once you have installed the PSU plug it in (but leave switched off). This will electrically earth the chassis.
Original post by Darkphilosopher

Original post by Darkphilosopher
The nearest electronics shop is 10 miles away and getting there is inconvenient.


As others have said, plug the PSU into the wall and touch that. It doesn't need to be switched on at the wall, as long as you have the IEC lead joining the PSU and the wall socket there will be a connection between the outside of the PSU and earth. When you have it screwed into the case, you can touch any part of that as well.

I do find it difficult to believe that in a kitchen there is nothing else you can touch - there must be pipes under the sink or around a water stop tap if it's situated in the kitchen. Also any exposed metal bit of any electrical appliance will be earthed - there might be something on the cooker or fridge or freezer which is left unpainted? (ok so what if you actually have a gas cooker - well, in that case there will be gas pipes!)

TBH if you have a stone floor and wooden table there should be no reason for any static build-up once you have ensured you're discharged. I think the big cause of this problem is the home is walking on nylon carpets wearing rubber slippers so you don't have to worry. I do think the risks of static are massively over-hyped, mainly by the manufacturers and vendors of these wristband things. I have either built PCs or rooted around inside one many, many times and the only precaution I take is to touch the exposed pipe below a radiator before I start work. The only people I can see having a real need for wristbands is people who spend all day working with electronic bits, away from another earth connection, in the same place all the time - so maybe people who work on computer production lines and that's about it!
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by thefish_uk
As others have said, plug the PSU into the wall and touch that. It doesn't need to be switched on at the wall, as long as you have the IEC lead joining the PSU and the wall socket there will be a connection between the outside of the PSU and earth. When you have it screwed into the case, you can touch any part of that as well.

I do find it difficult to believe that in a kitchen there is nothing else you can touch - there must be pipes under the sink or around a water stop tap if it's situated in the kitchen. Also any exposed metal bit of any electrical appliance will be earthed - there might be something on the cooker or fridge or freezer which is left unpainted? (ok so what if you actually have a gas cooker - well, in that case there will be gas pipes!)

TBH if you have a stone floor and wooden table there should be no reason for any static build-up once you have ensured you're discharged. I think the big cause of this problem is the home is walking on nylon carpets wearing rubber slippers so you don't have to worry. I do think the risks of static are massively over-hyped, mainly by the manufacturers and vendors of these wristband things. I have either built PCs or rooted around inside one many, many times and the only precaution I take is to touch the exposed pipe below a radiator before I start work. The only people I can see having a real need for wristbands is people who spend all day working with electronic bits, away from another earth connection, in the same place all the time - so maybe people who work on computer production lines and that's about it!


There are some pipes under the sink but they've been painted with anti-rust paint (or something like that).
And the pipes of my gas cooker are all concealed :biggrin:

I will try plugging in the PSU then using that though.

Thanks for the advice :smile:
If you're in the kitchen, touch the stainless steel (dry) draining board or the case of a plugged in and turned on PSU.

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