How bad is static build up?

[-Sylvan]

Building a computer tomorrow, should I be worried when I insert the cpu?
I have bought latex gloves to protect it from skin oil...
Should I do anything else?

 

[plasmastorm]

Never had a component of any type damaged due to static over 18 years of computer building.
Long as your not wearing rubber shoes and a shelll suit dont worry about it.

 

[plasmastorm]

Ps, every time some one comes to my shop and buys one of those anti-static wrist guards a laugh inside

 

[cats_Paw]

Agreed, thou i always work on my with my feet touching the ground, no shoes.

 

[-Sylvan]

lol thanks guys. I just don't want to *** up my 200 dollar i5.

I will just touch the edge of the case before I insert it.

 

[-Sylvan]

Best answer selected by -Sylvan.

 

[RetiredChief]

NO.
Summer time and high Hummidy reduce the chance of ESD damage.
Winter time and Low Humidity the possibility of damage skyrockets. In Fact you do NOT even have to touch, just bring your pinky next to a component to cause damage - the EM field can do it!

http://www.descoindustries.com/pdf/CostofESDDamage.pdf
http://www.static-sol.com/library/articles/ESD_damage.htm
And: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_discharge
Quote
However, many ESD events occur without a visible or audible spark. A person carrying a relatively small electric charge may not feel a discharge that is sufficient to damage sensitive electronic components. Some devices may be damaged by discharges as small as 10 V. These invisible forms of ESD can cause outright device failures, or less obvious forms of degradation that may affect the long term reliability and performance of electronic devices. The degradation in some devices may not become evident until well into their service life.

@ plasmastorm
"Ps, every time some one comes to my shop and buys one of those anti-static wrist guards a laugh inside"
Thanks, I know where NOT to buy from. You really need to take a class on ESD.

 

[-Sylvan]

So gloves and touching the PSU should be enough when installing the cpu?

 

[RetiredChief]

Gloves have to effects (1) Good - No transfer of body oils to the component and (2) Not good for getting rid of static charge.

At home working on my systems I do not wear gloves. At work required to wear latex gloves and a wrist strap, But this is on a 20 Mil satellite Instrument and Oil on any surface is BAD in Space. For Home computer Body oils are bad for the CPU - prevents good thermal conductivity between cpu and HS.

I do wear a wrist strap during the winter (RH is typically 20%) when handling CPU/RAM/Circuit cards such as GPUs outside the protective ESD shield they come in.

Summer time I'm a little more relaxed and if the Components are install I keep one habd on the case when working inside, but still wear the wrist strap when installing new RAM, or a GPU.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey