Antistatic Wristbands needed for building a pc?

[kjs5932]

well, my question is as on the title, i've read a lot of articles on grounding by touching metal or the power supply, some say i need antistatic wrist straps, others say they are a waste of money.

firstly, are wrist straps neccessary, or are they just another extra precaution, to be extra safe.

either way, i've read lots of articles contradicting each other on how to ground myself, some say to touch the case, others to touch the psu plugged in, others plugged out... needless to say i'm very confused.

so, basically, i'm building an entirel;y new pc, new case, new mobo ( asus p8p67), and ram, cpu (i5 2500k), cpu cooler, etc, the whole deal, so can anyone recommend me the safest and simplest way to construct a pc from scratch, i sont mind having to buy some extra equipments if need be, but i'm tight on budget anbd would hope not to spend too much money.

thank you in advance

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I know what you mean about the conflicting opinions lol,

I build on a wooden desk,(good) in a carpeted room(bad)
I dont use a statband unless I'm handling the cpu for installation,
I normally touch the case before I touch anything inside the case, and probably every 2 minutes or so
I leave the psu plugged into the wall but switched off at the socket
Never had any problems myself, but as you already found out, opinions will differ on the subject
whatever you decide upon, enjoy the build man,
Moto

 

[sandybridge]

RTFM. Period. Read the manual. Nowadays very few people do that. They call up their stores or tech support for help if they run into a problem.

It's a good idea to touch a metal case with a running psu or a running grounded appliance. My home server is in the same room and on the same desk where I build/maintain pcs. Just don't touch any chips on the mobo & ram if it doesn't have heatspreaders & the underside of a cpu. Basically, you grab everything by the edges. Like a cylon.

 

[orkie]

Had the same dilemma a few weeks before when i was building for a first time, decided wrist bands were only gonna get in the way so i didn't get one, i was touching the case very often and tried to keep 1 of my hand on it if i could, but it wasn't plugged into the socket and neither was the psu switch on. I don't know if this is the safest way to do it but i did touch certain parts i should have been more careful maybe and did not do any damage, obviosly if it was luck or just reliable parts -> i can't be sure

 

[jaguarskx]

I just touch any metallic object that is touching the floor. The case will do fine.

Build your system on a hard surface like a desk or floor (not carpeted).

 

[evilavatar]

Part of this depends on if you live in a dry or humid place and where you are doing the work. I am a fan of just using plain old latex gloves to protect my parts, but I work in a clinic and have easy access. It is definitely up to you, but it is a smart move if you are worried. They can be bulky and get in the way when you are trying to add parts, so you may need to plan ahead.