Question New build shuts off due to static electricity but I cannot figure out the cause ?

[redpotatoe]

I recently built a fractal terra. Other than an issue with helldivers shutting the pc off if clock speed is set to default (once I lower it to 2500mz from 2900 it stays stable) it has ran fine. Today I noticed an issue if I have any slight bit of a static charge and I touch my case the moniter shuts off. Fans stay spinning and lights remain on. Also if when it crashes I leave it on but insert the hdmi into the motherboard directly it comes back on. Gpu still won't give picture until reboot but the motheboard will. At the same time if I touch it with a static shock when it's plugged into motherboard to begin with it won't crash, it will flicker but it stays on.

I tried different outlets and it did not work. At first when I moved to an actual grounded outlet it seemed to fix it, at first. Then after a few times testing it it would shut off aswell and then would consistently every time after. I removed the psu from the case and touched the case without the psu touching the case anywhere and still crashed so I don't think it's the psu. I Swapped a backup gpu into it and it seemed to go away at first. But now it has been doing similar things. If I have enough of a static shock it may make the screen flicker, go black for second, feeze the pc or make the app (amd adrenalin specifily) flicker. After touching it after rubbing my feet on the carpet multiple times over and over it finally did have the screen go black once with the new gpu, but only once whereas the previous gpu would do it every single time no matter how little shock. Any ideas on what to do? I have spent so many hours getting this thing running right and it's very discouraging at this point

-lian li sp750
-asrock a620i
-ryzen 7600
-rx7600 (Swapped with backup rx6600)
-tskill 32gb ram
-Kingston ssd

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

asrock a620i
Is this;
https://pg.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A620I Lightning WiFi/index.asp
your motherboard? If so, what BIOS version are you on? As for the build, have you tried breadboarding it to see if lack of airflow across the VRM is causing the issue?

Today I noticed an issue if I have any slight bit of a static charge and I touch my case the moniter shuts off.
+
I tried different outlets and it did not work. At first when I moved to an actual grounded outlet it seemed to fix it, at first. Then after a few times testing it it would shut off aswell and then would consistently every time after.
You might want to relocate to another wall outlet. If that doesn't alleviate the issue, you should call in a certified electrician and scope out the wiring in your abode to see if your grounding has been compromised.

After touching it after rubbing my feet on the carpet multiple times over and over it finally did have the screen go black once with the new gpu, but only once whereas the previous gpu would do it every single time no matter how little shock.
Yes, that's indicative of you having a grounding issue.

 

[redpotatoe]

Yes that's the correct board, I have 3.10. I tried in an outlast that comes directy from the panel that was only installed a few years ago and it still caused the issue. By breadboardinf do you mean taking the parts out of the case? I took the psu out and tried it that way and touching the psu when separate from case it would not short. If psu is screwed into case and I touch psu then it shorts.

 

[redpotatoe]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

asrock a620i
Is this;
https://pg.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A620I Lightning WiFi/index.asp
your motherboard? If so, what BIOS version are you on? As for the build, have you tried breadboarding it to see if lack of airflow across the VRM is causing the issue?

Today I noticed an issue if I have any slight bit of a static charge and I touch my case the moniter shuts off.
+
I tried different outlets and it did not work. At first when I moved to an actual grounded outlet it seemed to fix it, at first. Then after a few times testing it it would shut off aswell and then would consistently every time after.
You might want to relocate to another wall outlet. If that doesn't alleviate the issue, you should call in a certified electrician and scope out the wiring in your abode to see if your grounding has been compromised.

After touching it after rubbing my feet on the carpet multiple times over and over it finally did have the screen go black once with the new gpu, but only once whereas the previous gpu would do it every single time no matter how little shock.
Yes, that's indicative of you having a grounding issue.

I also have another pc in the house that has a more powerful gpu and cpu and that pc in the same outlet does not cause an issue, if that matters at all

 

[Lutfij]

By breadboardinf do you mean taking the parts out of the case?
Having everything on your motherboard box and your bench, not inside the case.

 

[redpotatoe]

By breadboardinf do you mean taking the parts out of the case?
Having everything on your motherboard box and your bench, not inside the case.

I would do that but at at point I'd have to touch the individual components with shock by themselves and I fear that will fry them

 

[Misgar]

At first when I moved to an actual grounded outlet it seemed to fix it

Standard ATX PSUs are designed to be operated with a mains safety earth connected. If a serious fault develops inside an earthed PSU, the fault current will be diverted safely down to ground, blowing mains fuses or tripping miniature circuit breakers.

If the ATX PSU is operated without an earth and a dangerous fault develops, when you touch the exposed metalwork, you could get a serious or fatal electric shock.

In addition, the Y-class capacitors inside the ATX PSU will not be earthed, with the result the computer case could "float" at a relatively high AC voltage with respect to earth (up to half the AC mains input, i.e. 55V AC on a 110V supply or 120V AC on a 240V supply).

This is not a "static" voltage. It's the result of a capacitive divider formed by two Y-class capacitors, one connecting the Line input to chassis, the other connecting Neutral to chassis. The capacitors do not allow currents of more than a few milliAmps to flow, but it's enough to create a slight "buzzing" sensation if you brush the back of your fingers across the PSU chassis. The junction of this capacitor network is designed to be earthed, not left floating.

If you have a simple multimeter, set it to the 200V AC range. Connect one probe to the PSU chassis when it's not connected to a safety earth. Connect the other probe to the mains safety earth. You'll probably see a few tens of Volts AC on the meter (at high impedance).

When you touch any bare metal work on the computer case, a few mA will flow through your body down to the floor. The same is true when you are handling bare metal plugs on the end of cables, e.g. HDMI, USB, etc. You may be connecting several tens of Volts AC into circuits only designed to handle +5V DC signals. The result is the computer crashes. It's not rocket science.

I suspect most of your problems are due to the ATX PSU being operated without a mains safety earth.

If you feel like living dangerously, continue as you are. You could also leave the safety belt off when you get in a car. Accidents always happen to other people, not you.

 

[redpotatoe]

Standard ATX PSUs are designed to be operated with a mains safety earth connected. If a serious fault develops inside an earthed PSU, the fault current will be diverted safely down to ground, blowing mains fuses or tripping miniature circuit breakers.

If the ATX PSU is operated without an earth and a dangerous fault develops, when you touch the exposed metalwork, you could get a serious or fatal electric shock.

In addition, the Y-class capacitors inside the ATX PSU will not be earthed, with the result the computer case could "float" at a relatively high AC voltage with respect to earth (up to half the AC mains input, i.e. 55V AC on a 110V supply or 120V AC on a 240V supply).

This is not a "static" voltage. It's the result of a capacitive divider formed by two Y-class capacitors, one connecting the Line input to chassis, the other connecting Neutral to chassis. The capacitors do not allow currents of more than a few milliAmps to flow, but it's enough to create a slight "buzzing" sensation if you brush the back of your fingers across the PSU chassis. The junction of this capacitor network is designed to be earthed, not left floating.

If you have a simple multimeter, set it to the 200V AC range. Connect one probe to the PSU chassis when it's not connected to a safety earth. Connect the other probe to the mains safety earth. You'll probably see a few tens of Volts AC on the meter (at high impedance).

When you touch any bare metal work on the computer case, a few mA will flow through your body down to the floor. The same is true when you are handling bare metal plugs on the end of cables, e.g. HDMI, USB, etc. You may be connecting several tens of Volts AC into circuits only designed to handle +5V DC signals. The result is the computer crashes. It's not rocket science.

I suspect most of your problems are due to the ATX PSU being operated without a mains safety earth.

If you feel like living dangerously, continue as you are. You could also leave the safety belt off when you get in a car. Accidents always happen to other people, not you.

I thought that may be the case but it does happen when connected to a grounded outlet as well.

 

[redpotatoe]

I took it to work and tried it on the outlets here ( definitely grounded) and the problem persist. So it's definitely something with the pc

 

[DaleH]

I recently built a fractal terra. Other than an issue with helldivers shutting the pc off if clock speed is set to default (once I lower it to 2500mz from 2900 it stays stable) it has ran fine. Today I noticed an issue if I have any slight bit of a static charge and I touch my case the moniter shuts off. Fans stay spinning and lights remain on. Also if when it crashes I leave it on but insert the hdmi into the motherboard directly it comes back on. Gpu still won't give picture until reboot but the motheboard will. At the same time if I touch it with a static shock when it's plugged into motherboard to begin with it won't crash, it will flicker but it stays on.

I tried different outlets and it did not work. At first when I moved to an actual grounded outlet it seemed to fix it, at first. Then after a few times testing it it would shut off aswell and then would consistently every time after. I removed the psu from the case and touched the case without the psu touching the case anywhere and still crashed so I don't think it's the psu. I Swapped a backup gpu into it and it seemed to go away at first. But now it has been doing similar things. If I have enough of a static shock it may make the screen flicker, go black for second, feeze the pc or make the app (amd adrenalin specifily) flicker. After touching it after rubbing my feet on the carpet multiple times over and over it finally did have the screen go black once with the new gpu, but only once whereas the previous gpu would do it every single time no matter how little shock. Any ideas on what to do? I have spent so many hours getting this thing running right and it's very discouraging at this point

-lian li sp750
-asrock a620i
-ryzen 7600
-rx7600 (Swapped with backup rx6600)
-tskill 32gb ram
-Kingston ssd

The best solution is to remove static as a problem. This is a not uncommon problem in the winter time with even the most expensive electronic systems. Check out antistatic mats on Amazon or some other source.

 

[Eximo]

I took it to work and tried it on the outlets here ( definitely grounded) and the problem persist. So it's definitely something with the pc

This is when I would look to make sure the chassis is properly grounded and you have no floating voltages. A multimeter comes in handy.

#1 thing. Unplug all the USB headers from the motherboard and see if the issue persists. If you plug them back in one at a time and the problem reoccurs, you have a badly made or damaged USB cable. So you might be putting a little voltage where it doesn't belong when you complete the circuit or give it a different path to ground which may cause a known 'zero' reference to suddenly go negative and trigger failsafes.

Painted chassis, plastic parts, all can create separation where you want metal to metal contact.

Make sure the motherboard screws are hitting metal, usually little solder pads they leave specifically for this. Make sure the standoffs are metal.
Make sure the motherboard tray is connected to the rest of the chassis without insulation of paint or what ever.
If the chassis has a removable I/O shield, make sure the metal tabs are up against the metal housing of the rear I/O.
Make sure the PSU mount has metal to metal contact with the chassis, if not, that could be the main issue. These days a lot of chassis have little sleds or carriers to make the PSU installation easier, could be a contact issue there.

 

[Misgar]

I recently built a fractal terra.

I looked up the Fractal Terra and this sentence caused me some concern.

Inspired by the homes of modern gamers, Terra incorporates boutique design features such as thick panels cut from anodized aluminum, CNC-milled details and FSC-certified solid walnut.

I know from work that some anodized metal surfaces can be good insulators. The anodizing might be a very thin layer, but unless there is good metal to metal contact between the various panels, by clearing the anodizing under screw heads, some of the panels might be isolated from each other and earth.

The skeletal design of the Terra is not what I'm used to in a "standard" computer case and may be part of the problem. A case where form doesn't fit function?

I don't know how much of the case is made of walnut, perhaps just a few cosmetic pieces, but wood is a good insulator, regardless of whether or not it's "FSC-certified". I'm sure that adds $20 to the price.

To check continuity between all metal parts, I'd use a professional bonding tester capable of measuring down to milliOhms. Failing that you could try using a multimeter, but this will be less effective.
https://www.amptec.com/products/bonding-testing/620lk/

In extremis, I might be tempted to move all the parts to a "normal" metal case and see if the problem goes away. If so, you know the Terra is at fault.

 

[Eximo]

Probably don't need to go to that extreme for testing continuity, but that is a good point about anodization
Given that it is a SFF Mini-ITX there is even more chance of a damaged cable being part of the problem.

 

[redpotatoe]

I looked up the Fractal Terra and this sentence caused me some concern.

Inspired by the homes of modern gamers, Terra incorporates boutique design features such as thick panels cut from anodized aluminum, CNC-milled details and FSC-certified solid walnut.

I know from work that some anodized metal surfaces can be good insulators. The anodizing might be a very thin layer, but unless there is good metal to metal contact between the various panels, by clearing the anodizing under screw heads, some of the panels might be isolated from each other and earth.

The skeletal design of the Terra is not what I'm used to in a "standard" computer case and may be part of the problem. A case where form doesn't fit function?

I don't know how much of the case is made of walnut, perhaps just a few cosmetic pieces, but wood is a good insulator, regardless of whether or not it's "FSC-certified". I'm sure that adds $20 to the price.

To check continuity between all metal parts, I'd use a professional bonding tester capable of measuring down to milliOhms. Failing that you could try using a multimeter, but this will be less effective.
https://www.amptec.com/products/bonding-testing/620lk/

In extremis, I might be tempted to move all the parts to a "normal" metal case and see if the problem goes away. If so, you know the Terra is at fault.

What specifically would I be looking for when I'm testing it? I ordered a multi meter but it will be a few days. I have never used one before.
I'm still in the return window on Amazon for the psu and motherboard I'm very tempted to just return/replace them for another to rule that out. I do have another case I could try but it's a meshroom s and is not really a metal case so I don't think that would help at the moment.
It just a bummer as this was a build I've been working on for my wife birthday this week..does not seem like that's going to happen now.
Thanks for help everyone, I have a few things to check for now from these comments, I'll update once either multi meter comes in or if I replace the psu/mothboard first.