Mobo Static Electricity!

[Chisfy]

I have recieved my brand new motherboard today and because it is the brain of the PC i wanted to inspect it to ensure nothing is visibly damaged during delivery. I have only unboxed it (not installed yet into case until i have my cpu). I took it out to hold it and see it what it actually feels like but when i did in my excitement I touched the back of the motherboard twice. It was only after i packed it away did i think "was i supposed to do that?" i am extremely scared that i have damaged my mobo without ever installing it, please will the motherboard be alright?!

btw yes i am a computer noob if you haven't noticed!

 

[Rogue Leader]

g unit.
I dare you to turn off computer.
five minutes with extreme movement with hands, computer turned off. now without touching any metal, touch your motherboard.

you will likely get a feeling that will hurt a bit, and your powerless motherboard will be static electricity'd.

I just tried this.

The only thing I felt was stupid for having tried it.

This post was typed on my "Static electricity'd" motherboard.

 

[adiec]

g unit.
I dare you to turn off computer.
five minutes with extreme movement with hands, computer turned off. now without touching any metal, touch your motherboard.

you will likely get a feeling that will hurt a bit, and your powerless motherboard will be static electricity'd.

I just tried this.

The only thing I felt was stupid for having tried it.

This post was typed on my "Static electricity'd" motherboard.

maybe your extreme hand movements weren't the right kind ?

 

[Rogue Leader]

g unit.
I dare you to turn off computer.
five minutes with extreme movement with hands, computer turned off. now without touching any metal, touch your motherboard.

you will likely get a feeling that will hurt a bit, and your powerless motherboard will be static electricity'd.

I just tried this.

The only thing I felt was stupid for having tried it.

This post was typed on my "Static electricity'd" motherboard.

maybe your extreme hand movements weren't the right kind ?

I will try hand movements in the other direction.


NOPE still didn't break anything!

 

[Darthutos]

rofl.
seriously
rofl.

 

[adiec]

g unit.
I dare you to turn off computer.
five minutes with extreme movement with hands, computer turned off. now without touching any metal, touch your motherboard.

you will likely get a feeling that will hurt a bit, and your powerless motherboard will be static electricity'd.

I just tried this.

The only thing I felt was stupid for having tried it.

This post was typed on my "Static electricity'd" motherboard.

maybe your extreme hand movements weren't the right kind ?

I will try hand movements in the other direction.


NOPE still didn't break anything!

haha who would have thought there isn't a special hand trickery to breaking a motherboard! i'm glad you have tried it and failed at it ! we would have been inundated with thousands of posts about " i moved my hands in a swishing movement and now my motherboard is dead"

 

[Rogue Leader]

rofl.
seriously
rofl.

Please provide us with the proper hand movement technique

 

[Darthutos]

the way you try to start a fire with a piece of wood onto a fire rock.
without the wood obviously.

 

[Rogue Leader]

the way you try to start a fire with a piece of wood onto a fire rock.
without the wood obviously.

Yep. Exactly what I did.

Still feel stupid.

Computer still works.

 

[adiec]

the way you try to start a fire with a piece of wood onto a fire rock.
without the wood obviously.

Yep. Exactly what I did.

Still feel stupid.

Computer still works.

i think if you continue to do it .. your hands will eventually hurt from all the movement! not sure where the static'd mobo is going to appear though. perhaps you have to do this outdoors ? i mean starting a fire indoors isn't recommended.

 

[logainofhades]

15.5yrs of building, and never have used one of those straps, or lost a component to static electricity. Trying to make a mountain of an anthill, doesn't change the fact that it is still an anthill.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

I've worked on 100's of builds \ pre-builts and assembled over 3 dozen computers , never used a strap. 0 issues.

For me it's thousands of machines since the late 70's, and not once has there been a failure that could be traced back to static discharge. OP, don't worry about it.

 

[randomizer]

I built my current PC on nylon carpet while wearing socks. That was in 2009. I did actually almost kill my motherboard before I'd even finished the build by dropping a few hundred grams of aluminium from chest height.

the way you try to start a fire with a piece of wood onto a fire rock.
without the wood obviously.

Do you generally do this before building a computer?

 

[Darthutos]

of course.
blood sacrifice must be made before any of my computer is made.

 

[randomizer]

I think I've made my fair share of blood sacrifices while messing with I/O shields.

 

[g-unit1111]

of course.
blood sacrifice must be made before any of my computer is made.

But seriously it's not like this is going to happen. I've built tons of PCs, never used a static wrist strap, and have never had it come to this:

And I will say it again - your chances of damaging a motherboard by static when it's not powered on or plugged in (and it never should be, under any circumstances) and turned on are slim to nil. The static wrist straps are there for use when you're working with live equipment. If it's not powered on, you would have to be really trying to get a static discharge.

 

[USAFRet]

(coin there for size comparison)

 

[logainofhades]

I use my trusty leatherman, for repairing AMD CPU's. Haven't had to fix a motherboard yet.

 

[th3p00r]

I just past out by static shock.

 

[Saga Lout]

maybe your extreme hand movements weren't the right kind ?

Maybe he should have been doing it to the tune of the legendary pop song, "Turning Japanese".

 

[Rogue Leader]

maybe your extreme hand movements weren't the right kind ?

Maybe he should have been doing it to the tune of the legendary pop song, "Turning Japanese".

LMAO I just spit my oatmeal all over my laptop

 

[Onus]

Mixed bag in here...
I've been working on PCs since 1984. I don't believe I can definitively attribute any component failure that I have experienced to static. Reboots, yes; crashes, yes; destruction, no. That said...

Whether or not something is powered up, or grounded, is not going to affect whether or not it can be shocked; just ask the doorknob you touched after shuffling across the carpet. Was your little sister plugged in when you sparked her ear?
Voltages well under what humans can feel can damage electronics; there are plenty of electron-microscope pics to prove that.
I have sometimes worn an anti-static strap, mostly when building for others, but usually not. I do take other precautions though. My build area has carpet (my whole house does, except the kitchen & bathrooms), so I'll leave at least one foot bare. I ground myself regularly, don't roll around in a chair while building, and never use a vacuum cleaner on the inside of a PC (I do know of other people who have killed a PC, with static from a vacuum hose).

It's a tiny risk, alleviated by precautions, but it does exist.

 

[mrmike_49]

WOW! What a LOT of REALLY BAD ANSWERS!!!

SR71 : never uses a wrist strap: you must be 1) VERY LUCKY, and 2) live in a 'damp' area

ALWAYS USE A WRIST STRAP! Plug in the Power Supply, but turn OFF the power switch on back of pc.
Hook your strap to a metal part of the case (an interior part) This gives you an actual Ground!

gunit 1111 : JUST PLAIN WRONG!!! even a non engineer should know better! You absolutely CAN ESD damage a 'floating' board, or any 'floating' electronic device!

Somebody recommended a plastic floor protector underneath> this can be worse than carpet! (may not be, but can be)

A further tip: IF you walk across the floor, touch a doorknob and get a shock, do NOT work on your computer that day, even with a wrist strap your pc is at too great a risk

 

[USAFRet]

WOW! What a LOT of REALLY BAD ANSWERS!!!

SR71 : never uses a wrist strap: you must be 1) VERY LUCKY, and 2) live in a 'damp' area

ALWAYS USE A WRIST STRAP! Plug in the Power Supply, but turn OFF the power switch on back of pc.
Hook your strap to a metal part of the case (an interior part) This gives you an actual Ground!

gunit 1111 : JUST PLAIN WRONG!!! even a non engineer should know better! You absolutely CAN ESD damage a 'floating' board, or any 'floating' electronic device!

Somebody recommended a plastic floor protector underneath> this can be worse than carpet! (may not be, but can be)

A further tip: IF you walk across the floor, touch a doorknob and get a shock, do NOT work on your computer that day, even with a wrist strap your pc is at too great a risk

Please describe the actual electrical difference between touching the case with your fingers, and having a wrist strap.

 

[mrmike_49]

continuous grounding versus chance to forget to touch a ground often enough, and you should touch BARE metal, NOT the painted outside of the case

 

[adiec]

continuous grounding versus chance to forget to touch a ground often enough, and you should touch BARE metal, NOT the painted outside of the case

you do realise that these scenarios have been rigorously tested time and time again over the last 30 years ? you talk absolute nonsense . nothing speaks more than experience . theory is no substitute . people don't forget to touch grounded objects.. they just don't. they are more likely to forget to wear a wrist strap or not bother . you do realise that you can make a wrist strap with a crocodile clip ? its not exactly some kind of wonderful unique piece of technology .