Grounded and mobo questions

J

Justgetmein

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
148
If i stand on a metal plate with my socks or barefoot it should be enough to stay grounded right? (maybe if i duck tape it i can be grounded all the time :D ... first build so taking every precaution).

Ok i have this case from 94 and it has this non existent ventilation (some holes on the back) i'm gonna use it for maybe 3 weeks but will it harm my hardware?

I want to connect the parts to my motherboard but want to do it outside of my case, what can i put under my mobo so it doesn't get harmed.

Thanks for the help
 
Well to your first question: You may be fine with that but you dont want to have the metal plate rub with a rug to conduct static electricity. I would suggest you go spend a few bucks and get an anti-static wrist strap to be safe. If you must go without one, what I usually would do is get a plastic bag, stand on it and not move and touch the bare aluminum of the case before touching any components. That is the main thing...ALWAYS touch the bare aluminum of the case if you do not have an anti-static wrist strap, to get rid of any static electricity.

Second Question: I'd say without ventilation, you'd want to leave the sidepanel off to be safe. Since nowadays components get hot with stock components and such. And if you're very worried about heat go grab a fan and stick it right infront of your motherboard :D .

Third Question: What I usually do is leave it's anti-static bag under it and that's pretty much all. But like it's your first build, if you are worried about the motherboard and stuff, just stick the sucker in it and then install the processor and memory.

Good luck with your build,

...Dan
 
Thanks Dan.
I just got back and I have my new videocard 7600GT and my G.skill 2gb of ram and listening to the yeah yeah yeahs ... life is good :D well if everything boots up nice.

Wish me luck : )
 
I dont think its advised but I think I may of done it a couple times by mistake but on my old junker P3 system where I just grab the closest screwdriver I can find. But I wouldnt do it spend 5 bucks to get one that isnt and save hundreds.
 
My labs in college when we were working on pc's we were supplied with magnetic screwdrivers. And I have used them for years on my pc's without problems. One thing that I suspect though that could be affected is the BIOS chip on the board, which after a quick search brought up someone who had done so. And they had to RMA their motherboard. So I would suggest to you to use a regular screwdriver. It will be a pain to put some screws on because of the drives and stuff but it's better to not risk it.

But like I have recently built 2 pc's now and I have used a magnetic screwdriver to screw in the motherboard screws and it did not affect the BIOS chip (though now I reconsidering ever doing that again).

Definately go the safe way and use a regular screwdriver.

Good luck with your build :)

...Dan
 
ah can i put all my crap on a glass table or on a metal table.

Ok i have my rubber boots on and gonna stand on a plastic bag so if i touch my psu all the static will come out of my body and i should be fine unless i move from the plastic bag right?
And if i bumo to something like a sofa am i affected and need to touch my psu again?

God i feel so dumb
 
I wouldnt worry about static. I didnt use any protection but just was sure to touch the power source metal before touching any component, and I had no problems at all.
 
Glass should be ok, metal is not. For example say you put your motherboard on it...it would connect all the connections. Remember the motherboard does have power on it even though it is a little battery. Best idea just leave the parts on top of their boxes.

Actually what you could do is go get like 3 feet of electrical wire. Strip about a foot of it on one end and then strip an inch off the other. Connect the inch part to part of the bare metal, I'd say like just below your PSU to the left. Then wrap the foot of bare wire around your wrist and you're grounded. I'd still take the safe route though and try not to move much because that would create static electricity.

Though you can go with the rubber boots idea ;) .
But you dont need the plastic bag when you have those, kindof redundant. The best way to not feel dumb, just go out and pick up an anti-static wrist strap.

I've built many computers and worked on them a lot and I never used an anti-static wrist strap or anything like that before and I never had one problem. Though now I think that was just stupid and it's not worth risking damaging components that I spent a lot of money on. That's why I always use my anti-static wrist strap now.

...Dan
 
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