Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbes_fan
I just had a horrible thought that he ran off and tried to "ground" himself by sticking something in an electrical socket
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Hoo hoo since I raised it and Ledgem basically explained one of the safe ways of doing it, let me clarify what I mean about the no no method of doing it.
One of the safest methods for the components and yourself is as Ledgem said to leave the computer plugged in and make sure that the power socket is switched off. Make sure that the socket is off because most power supplies are never off and supply power for things like wake up by lan/kb etc. This only works as Ledgem said earlier if you country has 3 pronged plugs, where the 3rd prong is the ground. Finally you earth your self to the case by touching it, or by connecting yourself to it with a anti-static cord. <- The case and frame will act like a faraday cage (correct me if I am wrong please scientists) and travel through that and the PSU into the earth.
I agree with Ledgem about not buying into the band. I just ground myself and I don't shuffle around rub my body as I walk.
So where people go wrong are they try this with power sockets with no earth, or even worse they try to jam the metal connector into a power socket and they don't know which one is the earth.
Normal levels of static in my experience doesn't jump very far from one body to another. So the risk is actually putting components on the carpet. I would be more worried about it being a dry day and wearing synthetic clothes. You can tell because if you touch a door handle or something you get a zap. Humidity is bad for PCs but being too dry causes static, you can't win!
I'd like to give a little more detail why I pick mobo first. HF gives really detailed and good advice and I'm not arguing against him, just clarifying why I said mobo as first choice.
In my experience of my PC, I have always found I tend to upgrade the GPU, the memory and the CPU. I do this when prices drop or new components come out. I don't upgrade my mobo unless it no longer supports one of the above and I really need it. So when I pick the mobo I check that it is PCI-e, that it does have some future proofing for the CPU socket etc. Nothing more annoying then seeing the latest line of cheap, energy efficient CPUs come out and not only do you have to buy a new one of them, but you have to buy a new mobo too. Then if your mobo supported the older type memory you might need to buy that as well!
Of course researching every component is very important.
Off topic, but favourite static shock was when I kissed a girl and she didn't quite get what static was and she seemed to think it was some magical connection between us. I didn't have the heart to burst that bubble. I might have shuffled a little more when I was with her
