Grounded outlet required for PC?

[TSCSparks]

Hello Community,

I'm about to build my first Gaming PC next week, someone who is helping me finding parts etc. told me a grounded outlet is required for PC. The problem is, I live in a kinda old house (probably from 1970's) and barely any outlet is grounded upstairs, except for one in an other room.

I've googled a lot and found different answers, some say its not required but recommended while I've also seen people saying don't even think about using a PC without ground.

Placing a Grounded outlet and wiring is really expensive to be done and its not a option at the moment, Could i use a PC without a grounded outlet (temporarily)?

I am from the Netherlands so the current is 230V AC here, the house i live in is a rent house, i heard the Landlord should put in a Grounded outlet if needed, but i do not know if that would chance the Rental bill also i do not know if that is even the case in the Netherlands, i hope there are some Dutch People that can help me with that question.

Thanks in advance
TSCSparks

 

[Barty1884]

Ultimately, what you've read (it's recommended) would be correct. I'd say *highly, highly* recommended for anything encased in metal (regardless of whether the metal is surrounded by plastic). While a device will work without the outlet being grounded, it's potentially risky.

The ground aspect is only really there to catch the 'worse case scenario', it's rare, but possible.

Without a grounded outlet (which can trip a breaker in the event of a major issue), that electricity has the potential to flow directly to your system and, being encased in a metal 'box' (for all intents and purposes), can be an electrical shock hazard.

I'm not sure of the legalities in the Netherlands, but I would suspect grounded outlets to be a legal requirement (as they're essentially 'life safety' critical) - therefore, it shouldn't impact your lease..... but can't say for sure.

A surge protector may be a decent stop-gap, but not sure if they need to be connected to ground................ and it's really in no way a satisfactory replacement for a true grounded outlet.

 

[DRagor]

While I completely agree with everything Barty wrote, I'll just add that I have been running my comps without grounded outlet for like last 20 years, just surge protector. No problems encountered.