What should I do with my graphics card?

[amdphenomkde]

Hi! My motherboard is away at the Asus repair center and I had my HIS Radeon HD 6670 laying on the carpet (I know, it should have been back in the box). I, stupidly (with socks on), picked it up a couple days ago to look at it and I think I might have felt/heard a very small spark (might be imagining though, I hope). Should I be concerned about this? My motherboard should come back from Asus in the next week or two, and I'm a bit reluctant to put it in just because while I doubt there's anything wrong with the graphics card, I don't want to take that risk of it damaging my newly fixed/refurbished motherboard. So, what can I do to test it? Should I take it to a store (like Micro Center?) to see if it's ok? I didn't buy it from there, so would they charge me?

Please pardon the long post. Thanks!

 

[bigshootr8]

IF you took it to microcent or anywhere else to test it they would probably charge you. Chances are if the static from your carpet killed the card it wouldn't even power on. But I wouldn't risk it in your new board either. So I guess its up to you.

 

[soundguruman]

Well yeah, a static spark can destroy the circuit in 1 second.
you can wrap it in aluminum foil. That works well to dissipate static electricity.
I would have not bothered to send the Asus board back.
i would have bought a different brand board to replace it altogether....

 

[amdphenomkde]

IF you took it to microcent or anywhere else to test it they would probably charge you. Chances are if the static from your carpet killed the card it wouldn't even power on. But I wouldn't risk it in your new board either. So I guess its up to you.

Thanks for the quick reply, bigshootr8! I think I'll either take it to MC or maybe a local store to see if it can be tested, or, while it might seem like a waste of money, I might just have to be creative. I think I might look for a cheap 775 board with PCI-E on eBay and get a P4 HT with some cheap RAM and just use it to test. If it survives, I can just give it to an elderly relative who needs a new computer anyway.

 

[amdphenomkde]

Well yeah, a static spark can destroy the circuit in 1 second.
you can wrap it in aluminum foil. That works well to dissipate static electricity.
I would have not bothered to send the Asus board back.
i would have bought a different brand board to replace it altogether....

Thanks. I might try the aluminum foil thing. That wouldn't make sense to get a new board though, the Asus was under warranty.

 

[amdphenomkde]

Best answer selected by amdphenomkde.