**POLL** ESD Safety Precautions

[wildben]

Im just curious to know what you all do to avoid ESD damage to your motherboard and other delicate PC components. I see so many people having DOAs and various problems with all brands of motherboards on Newegg. Almost all boards listed there have high percentages of problems.

I wonder if this is due to ESD, and people not taking precautions? But then again, the CPUs for Intel and AMD have almost no reports of failures, yet they are supposedly the most delicate piece of hardware of them all...

What are your opinions of ESD, and the best ways to prevent it?

 

[smartel7070]

I never take any precautions aside from never handling parts while standing on a carpet ..... been building systems for 13 years and never had a part failed 'cause of ESD.

 

[Zorg]

Just touch the case periodically. Don't do the install on carpet and don't wear wool or other static prone clothing.

The parts on Newegg that "blow up" are, more than likely, from Newbs that don't know which end is up. And of course some that just fail.

 

[fleakiller]

I just touch the case i have built on and off the carpet with no problems lucky ??

 

[Scotteq]

On a cool, crisp day

Wear lots of wool

Rapidly drag your feet on a shag carpet in order to build up a really good charge






Then touch your kid/sibling on the ear, laugh, then walk away and go build your computer.

 

[RetiredChief]

I responed - ESD strap and Mat (Mat is only used for build and becuase I have one). Granted a MB/memory/GPU are cheap compared to a 10 Mil satellite. But hay, that 250 - 300 comes out of my pocket so I'm alittle cautious - But that's me.

Attending a 3 1/2 Hr ESD class on Wen. (Certification required for Work)

I think the response would be different if people attended one of these classes.

smartel7070 - Not to say you have, But you have no way off knowing, UNLESS you have not had a hardware failure, or knew the EXACT nature of failure. Cost to evaluate a component is on the order of 25 grand - Not worth the cost for vast majority of consummer electronics.

 

[wildben]

I built my first computer back in 2002, and didn't even know about ESD then. I had the PC case on the carpet floor, and had the board sitting on its cardboard box. I actually touched all over the board while looking at all the connections and such... it still runs just fine today, haha.

But then I heard about ESD and began to do research... and of course started worrying more and more as I learned how dangerous ESD is. So eventually I went to Best Buy and got their 8 dollar wrist strap. I guess ignorance is bliss...

 

[Onus]

Hey there RetiredChief. I'm the other guy that uses an ESD strap now.

 

[smartel7070]

RetiredChief - The last hardware failure I had was a doa hard drive back in 1996.

 

[wildben]

I responed - ESD strap and Mat (Mat is only used for build and becuase I have one). Granted a MB/memory/GPU are cheap compared to a 10 Mil satellite. But hay, that 250 - 300 comes out of my pocket so I'm alittle cautious - But that's me.

Attending a 3 1/2 Hr ESD class on Wen. (Certification required for Work)

I think the response would be different if people attended one of these classes.

smartel7070 - Not to say you have, But you have no way off knowing, UNLESS you have not had a hardware failure, or knew the EXACT nature of failure. Cost to evaluate a component is on the order of 25 grand - Not worth the cost for vast majority of consummer electronics.

Hey there RetiredChief. I'm the other guy that uses an ESD strap now.

Where do you guys attach the strap and mat to? Wall ground socket, or to the PC case. There is a lot of confusion in ESD discussions whether everything should be earth grounded or just grounded to each other to keep the potential the same.

 

[lambofgode3x]

Attending a 3 1/2 Hr ESD class on Wen. (Certification required for Work)

I think the response would be different if people attended one of these classes.

i dont know about that...i took a course like that and the most i've ever done to prevent esd is take a sip of my gatorade...as long as youre not shimmying around in wool socks rubbing balloons on your head you should be fine.

 

[noobe1981]

I just touch the case briefly. I've also always work on my computer on carpet, and built it on the carpet. I just make sure to always touch metal anytime I got to get up and move around. Not to mention I prep everything before I sit down to do it anyways, so not much moving *although thats just me being lazy lol*.

 

[rockbyter]

DOAs are caused by one of the following in no particular order:
1. Inexperience in force fitting a product
2. Shipping bouncing the product and knocking something loose
3. Immediate electrical issue, such as a short, or inserting a card when the system was on.
4. Transportation abuse by user creating a DOA, when something jostles loose and shorts OR hard drive bouncing = bad.
5. Manufacturer flaw. Hand installed part not quite right.

Leave a power cord plugged into the system, but have the switch on the back off. This grounds the system because the ground and neutral wires are still connected. I am a big guy and as such i have large arms and hands. It is nearly impossible for me to work inside anything less than a full tower without at the very least brushing against the case. Just unscrewing and removing side panels you ground yourself first thing.

There is a significantly higher chance of you damaging your computer via bouncing your box and therefore damaging the hard drive than to kill it via static. I have a friend that loses a hard drive once every few lan parties just because of how he treats his system as a whole, not static. He blames his motherboard for frying them. Go figure.

 

[Lord Gornak]

I usually start my build on my kitchen table, and touch the case periodically to ground myself. I used to be more careless, but one night while I was drinking with a buddy and building his computer on the carpet, the static electricity from my body visibly arced from my hand to his motherboard. Thankfully that was when Frys didn't give you a hard time about exchanging "faulty" boards.

 

[Zorg]

The arc is a good indication of an ESD failure. :lol:

Yes I know that no arc is necessary to damage equipment.
________________________________________________

Additionally, everyone keep your sticky fingers off the board, hold it by the edges.

 

[Lord Gornak]

I definitely handle everything by the edges now (the system I built for my buddy was a first gen Pentium to give you a time frame), and I don't go for speed when I build systems anymore. I like my hardware and cable placement to be more of a work of art these days, and I really prefer to be standing on a hard surface than carpet when building.

 

[RetiredChief]

Ref where to ground to.

!. I use the gound on an Power strip by inseting a Bannan plug (same as what goes in to a multimeter. or
(2) Once the PSU is installed, it can be plug in to the power strip, then use an alligater clip to the case (Bare metal as paint is a insulator.

Note power strip pluged into outlet and OFF.

After class I might have some pic that I can pos

 

[Zorg]

I definitely handle everything by the edges now

In case there is any confusion, when I said "your sticky fingers" I meant people in general, not you specifically. I added a break to separate the last comment and added the word everyone.

 

[taskforcetiny]

Zorg, dun think Gornak was confused - he was in agreement with you ;-)

 

[Zorg]

I know, I just didn't want him or anyone else to think I was picking on him with the sticky fingers comment. On a second reading, I thought it could easily have been misconstrued.

 

[cliffro]

I dont know if it actually helps any, but in addition to touching the case occasionally, I keep a dryer sheet handy and rub my hands on it occasionally.

It probably doesnt do anything, so I am more than likely effectively rubbing it for luck...lol.

I've been extremely lucky in the past.....I have made the mistake on my first build of mounting the mobo to the case without standoffs....It wouldn't power on so I called my friend and walked him through what I did and realized what I did wrong..... I pulled it all, put the standoffs in and surprisingly it booted and worked fine......

Then I realized I was being a cheapass using parts from an old Compaq....and pulled 75% of it and replaced the used stuff with new faster parts...

 

[Lord Gornak]

I do make it a point to wash my hands after eating a popsicle on a hot day before touching computer components, so no sticky fingers there.
I did understand what you meant Zorg, and actually in my early teens I did handle motherboards rather "roughly" and not just by the edges. A very valid point and one that any system builder should practice. Never broke a CPU pin back in those days though!

 

[closed_deal]

Electronics is basically my living... never so far have i had a ESSD problem with any of my computer components. Building for 8 years. Watercooling for 3 years.

So things never break, so i maybe lucky... 3rd build i was still pissed. Maybe a mild alc, but what the hell ,all my builds have worked even 4-5 years later in the form of hand me down's!

 

[Zorg]

I do make it a point to wash my hands after eating a popsicle on a hot day before touching computer components, so no sticky fingers there.

:lol:

 

[g13man]

guess I,m weird
I do any of three things , and I leave the ps pluged in for a true ground!