Anti static wrist strap confusion

[sinbad123]

Hi,
I have always built an repaired my computers without the use of an anti static wrist strap and i have never noticed a problem. However I have recently read that static discharge can cause problems that might not appear right away or are hard to detect. But today to make things more confusing I talked to the the repair tech at my local computer store (memory express) and he said that static discharge was only a problem with early computer parts and that now a days parts are so robust that no one ( not even the techs) use it any more.

So my question to the Tom's hardware community is do you guy/girls use a wirst strap for repairs/builds or is it just a wast of money?



Thanks in advance for any help
Sinbad

 

[mdd1963]

It can be avoided, if you know what you are doing; touching cards/modules along their outer plastic edges is safe; touching your metalic case after sitting down, just prior to unplugging the PSU will allow 99.9% of retained static to discharge as well.

If you've just paid $600-$1000 in gpus, I'd seriously avoid tempting fate by walking on shag carpeting, then touching assorted pins/components on the card(s)....!

 

[kingnoobe]

I agree with the tech guy, but something could happen. So why not just a buy a anti-static wrist strap just to be safe. It doesn't cost much.

 

[excelerater]

im no expert but in the 4-5 computers I have built myself
I have never even thought of static,of course I dont pet the cat and
than go work on a computer....and I usually work on wood floors or cement

how would you de charge yourself if you did not have a wrist band?