Grounding yourself question

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SnowMare

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Aug 21, 2016
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my room has no carpet

1.) If i have my PSU plugged in (and turned off) and put it in the PC case, will touching the pc case automatically ground me? Im think of connecting my antistatic wristband to the case

2.) any dangers of connecting urself to the PSU with a wrist strap? like which part of the PSU should i connect the alligator clip of the wrist strap?

 
Solution
Gam3r01
No, not really.
If you consider it this way:
The case, lets say, has a neutral charge. Lets say you have a positive charge. When you touch it for the first time electrons flow from you into the case, and you both level in charge. At this point there is zero change for ESD since you are at the same level. Grounding the case would remove charge, but that dosent matter with modern hardware.

Its similar to how workers can work on powerlines from helicopters. They level the charge with the chopper and can freely move so long as they dont ground out or cross cables.
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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You really dont need to do either.
If you touch the case every so often as you work (which you do anyway) it is plenty.
Its not a matter of grounding yourself, but rather leveling the charge between you and the system. If you dont do anything to create static you dont need to do anything.

Since you arent on carpet with wool socks, you dont need to care beyond touching the case.
 
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SnowMare

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but doesnt the case then need to be grounded?
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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No, not really.
If you consider it this way:
The case, lets say, has a neutral charge. Lets say you have a positive charge. When you touch it for the first time electrons flow from you into the case, and you both level in charge. At this point there is zero change for ESD since you are at the same level. Grounding the case would remove charge, but that dosent matter with modern hardware.

Its similar to how workers can work on powerlines from helicopters. They level the charge with the chopper and can freely move so long as they dont ground out or cross cables.
 
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Solution
madmatt30

madmatt30

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If you're in the UK then grounding yourself the way you described is perfectly acceptable ie.

Fit PSU to case , connect PSU to wall socket, ensure both wall socket & PSU are switched off.
Ground yourself to the case.

Whether its acceptable in other countries depends on the electrical system having a solid earth connection.

As gam3r01 says, you're doing it the right way - I've seen people in the past build PC's on beds, Sofa's, deep pile carpets with no regard for static etc.
 
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