Building a PC: anti-static mat

[bollocks]

Was reading a guide to building a PC on gamespy and this guy reccomends using an anti-static mat aswell as a wrist band, searched for anti-static mats and came up with mats that you stand on and mats to put under computers, but also found mats to stick under keyboards so these may not be 4 protection when assembling a PC(?)

So which did he mean? TIA.

 

[jihiggs]

ive built 10 computers and worked inside countless hundereds, ive never used any of those devices. they are a paranoid precautionary device that i would only use when working on a really expensive server to remove the remote risk of somthing sparking. just dont put the pc together while rubbing your feet on the carpet durring an lightning storm and you will be ok. i take what i said back, i have had one instance where static electricty was a problem, i had a removable hard drive in my hand, walking down the carpet hall with plastic sole slippers. i put it in the drive cage and it sparked on the side. the comp shutoff and nothing was fried.

wpdclan.com cs game server - 69.12.5.119:27015

 

[Flinx]

Before touching anything inside the case, ground yourself to the case (Touch the case) and don't play if it's a day when ur generating lots of static.

The loving are the daring!

 

[pIII_Man]

totally agree...people are way to paranoid...

i just make it a habit to try to touch the case while building...

I also recomend touching the case right before you handle graphics cards or memory...as they seem to be more suseptible to dammage...

I have never had a static discharge while working on a pc...


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[tombance]

I don't usually even think about static, as I usually touch the case by accident whenever Im doing stuff with my comp. Its actually quite hard to keep from touching your case when your trying to remove a stick of RAM.

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6752830" target="_new">Yay, I Finally broke the 12k barrier!!</A>

 

[Flinx]

Yep but on a new build it's easier to zap things especially if you have the stuff layed out nice and orderly a few feet away from your work area.

Anyway, I guess what is operative her is that care should be taken but no need to be absolutely paranoid. Ground yourself before touching anything or picking anything up.

The loving are the daring!

 

[Guest]

I tend to agree that grounded straps ad matts would be overkill for a home workshop mostly for cost and convenience reasons. Static, can usually be kept to a minimum by following a few simple rules of thumb which have been pointed out here. In an industrial environment for example where you pay minimum wagers to slap machines together by the hundreds is where these "industrial" static precautions would pay off. That's what the static mat/braclets are really for, but in a home environment it would just be extra insurance.

Down at work they make the dudes downstairs wear static clothes with the grounded strap attatched, stand on static mats, and run air ionizers all over the factory floor. The laser diodes we use are fairly expensive and start popping like popcorn when static conditions are bad. As you can imagine it is worth the extra cost for us.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Ditto.
Ive never used a wrist strap. i just touch and hold the chassy when doing stuff...
Or at the most use an antistatic bag to put the component on.
But even a piece of paper is fine.
Just something that doesnt collect static charge.

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