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What does it mean to touch the chassis?

I've hard the discussion about touching a non-painted metal surface of the case to make sure that you don't get zapped and that your hardware doesn't get damaged. I was just wondering if this meant that you had to be touching the metal of a case at ALL TIMES (which kind of sounded sceptical to me having to work with one hand when building a PC). Or... can you just breifly touch the metal of a case once every time you handle a PC component again or must it be at all times to ensure you don't get zapped?

And just to clarify, if I was using an anti-static wrist strap (I'm fully aware of the discussion on whether you really need it or not) which part of a "non-painted metal surface on the case" would I clip the wrist strap to?

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Well the truth is, it’s the computer that you don’t want to zap because of static electricity (ESD) not you ;-}

Lets say you leave your PC plugged into the AC outlet but have the power switched off. As you have a three pronged power cord and you’ve plugged the cord into a properly grounded outlet the case is then bonded to ground via the cord. So by placing your hand on the cases metal frame you’ve effectively discharged your self to ground. But the objects you have on the wooden work surface can also have a static charge so if you touch one or more of them you could acquire a static charge from them so if you have removed your hand from the case and then touched a sensitive ESD part you could damage it without realizing it. You would also not want to move as well as your feet rubbing on the floor could likewise build a charge.

So by holding the case with one hand you are assured of not zapping anything. But, of course that is a real pain! So this is where an ESD wrist Strap does the job for you!

So here’s a question for you: Is the world round or flat? But of course its round right? We’ve seen pictures from space and if you sail the ocean you clearly loose sight of the shoreline because of the curvature. Well, there are people who don’t believe this! Because they haven’t seen it, it must not be true: Here are 10 ‘proofs’ that the Earth is actually flat, not round

So what does this have to do with ESD? Surprisingly a lot! Most people are also in denial that ESD is real! You can’t see it unless it’s a large charge when you reach for a light switch when you are likely see and maybe even feel a zap.

What makes this harder to understand is the relative humidity where you are working has a big bearing on how much static there is. So in the middle of the winter where I live static is a big problem, but, like today in the summer its very humid and even with an AC running the humidity is still quite high so the risk is diminished from what I would face in the winter. But, Its still there! Some components are more sensitive the ESD damage than others and some components like chips have been hardened to help minimize the damage. The damage is not always seen right away just like bending a paperclip once the clip still works but the metal is fatigued and does not have the same strength as it once did. This is the risk with a zap as it might be a week or more before the damage effects things.

So what the right thing to do? When swapping out boards, RAM or Drives in a desktop using an ESD strap is all you need.

If you are working on a logic board soldering something then you want a proper ESD mat and strap connected to the ground pin of the outlet.

In both cases you don’t want to move about and you want your tools to be on the mat or be independently grounded.

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Thanks for the answer but to keep this short... I just have to have the PSU plugged into a wall outlet and have the wrist strap attatched to the fan grill of the power supply... Always before handling a component, I have to touch a metal part of the case to discharge myself... Make sure Im not moving around too much. And do I need an anti-staic mat if I'm full on building a PC?

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Then you'er fine, as I said working with Boards, RAM & Drives.

But, if you are working on a bare logic board then you really need a proper ESD mat. IFIXIT sells a nice one Portable Anti-Static Mat

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You can clip it to the metal part of a computer case where the power supply is installed, plugged into wall outlet and switched off on the power supply switch.

That way you will be grounded.

ESD isn't really an issue unless you are working on a carpet floor. Periodically ground yourself by touching the metal part of a computer case for a few seconds and you should have no problems.

Make sure you don't place the motherboard on the anti-static grey bag that comes with the motherboard as they are sometimes conductive, placing it on the motherboard box is a better idea.

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"Periodically ground yourself by touching the metal part of a computer case for a few seconds and you should have no problems." So should I do this every single time I'm going to touch a component in my PC?

And just a question... I've heard a lot of suggesstions to attatch the wrist strap to where the PSU is installed but why and whats the reason behind it (and attatching it to a wall outlet)??

Thanks for the answer.

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