A couple of things to think about when working with electronics and ESD safety: 1. It is not nessesary to "ground" you to the wall outlet or whatever, whats important is that everything you touch is the same potentiale as yourself, e.g with a wristband thats connected to some bare metal on e.g. your computer chassis. It is all about equal relative potential, not some kind of "absolute zero potential"(whatever that is). You need to have the same potential as the electronics you need to handle. 2. Do NOT(!) plug your wristband directly into the wall outlet. Never. Period. Not even if you are 100% sure that you plug it into the right socket/slot in the wall. If something else in your building is failing or have a shortcircuit, there is a potential risk of electrocuting yourself if you do this. So dont. IF, and only if, you KNOW that your wristband has a large in-series resister(usually 1Mohm), you can do this, but again, you'll not gain anything from this, you need to have the same potential as your components, not you freezer, your tv, your garagedoor-opener etc. The only reason why this COULD be an idea is that in many new houses the rebar in concrete floors is grounded via same same ground(At least in Europe, dont know about the US). This removes a lot of static created by walking around in the house and would therefor lower the chance of accidental static buildup. Again, remember the 1Mohm resistor! 3. Minimize the handling of the electronics. Only take the parts out of the ESD-bags when you are ready to mount it. Don't touch anything unnessesary(like waving it around in a video;-) ). Handle the parts by grapping large metal parts, e.g. the heatsinks, shrouds etc. Do not touch bare pins og the back of the pcb. 3. Best solution: Get an ESD mat to put your desk. They are like 20USD on ebay. When you are going to work with any kind of electronics, just place all you components on the mat, including your tools. Everytime you go to your desk to work, connect your mandatory(!) wristband to the mat, wait a couple of seconds and get to work. If you want to make sure you have equal potential, always start by touching a large metal part of the components on the ESD-mat, e.g. the computer case. And dont use a chair, stand up while working on the delicate eletronics. It will save you from static buildup between you and your chain AND be good for your back, win-win ;-) 4. The aftermath: ESD damage is tricky to spot. ESD damage CAN result in a completly bricked device, but often you will not notice at first. You will just fry a couple of transisters(out of millions). But eventually your computer starts BSOD'ing once in a while or acting strange. Something you have no chance to diagnose or repair. So all you guys saying "i do not need ESD protection, i've never had any issues", my response would be: are you sure? never had an unstable computer? never seen BSOD? Not yet, anyways :-) ...just my two cents to an old video for you people passing by like me :-)
Thanks a lot for the info! But may I ask since I would be building my first PC now can't I just walk barefoot and ground myself? I can do this since i will be on my own home. (And I don't have a carpet on the floor)
The important part is to have the same potential as the hardware you are working on. So always start by touching case/shrouds/heatsink/etc on the components a couple of seconds before proceding. And yes, walking barefooted would help you avoid static buildup, but it isn't a guarantee that you have the same potential as the components, so make sure to equalize any differencies in potential anytime you return to the table/components...
Is it okay to attach the anti-static wrist strap clip to my case even if that's where the Motherboard is currently installed & the PSU is/isn't plugged in? I wonder because while testing the board, it's features outside of the case it will be plugged in & on via the PSU. In that scenario I'm really confused how I'm supposed to ground myself.
there is so much false information out there and you got it right. do you work with electronics ? also propper clothing and materials around the electronics is important.
No i do not work with electronics other than on hobby and interest level. But i'm an electrical engineer(B.Sc.EE, high voltage)... ..and you are correct about both the clothings and materials around you...
when i buy something new i rub it for 5 good minutes on the carpet and then i zap my wife with it, if it still works then it is a solid component that deserves to be on my pc
Wait?! The outside of the anti-static bags is conductive?! Placing the PC parts on it after taking them out is usually the first thing I do. Man, all my PC components are so lucky to be alive.
The inside is conductive too. It's the conductivity that makes it work. The trick is it's only a bit conductive so the relative charges of you and the device are equalized less quickly (and with less damage) that if you directly touch the device and equalize suddenly.
KevinementD Can confirm. I shocked the shit out of my hand straight from an outlet around 4 years ago. Scared the shit out of me (figuratively speaking), and my finger was numb for a couple hours, but I'm very much alive.
KevinementD it really doesn't matter how healthy your heart is, if the shock goes through your heart your pretty much done. Now if you got shocked on the leg or something the electricity cant reach your heart and stop it. Either way I wouldn't recommend getting shocked by the wall outlet no matter what :P
I agree bare feet is the best way to go, that and non carpeted floors. Frankly ESD killing your components is incredibly rare, and unless you get shocked often when you touch a metal object in your house you really don't need to worry.
Gummin I first saw him and thought, "this guy is real interesting and informative". Then I saw him on other channels and wondered if he maintained them all, but apparently not.
Chu E. He used to be working with NCIX Tech Tips but then he moved on to make his own company he named LinusTechTips which now the company has three channels named LinusTechTips, ChannelSuperFun, and TechQuickie. Pretty great adventure thus far.
i usually put my hand on my pc exterior before a build and in my 15 years of putting together pc components, to my knowledge has newer destroyed eny components.
+LinusTechTips grounding isn't so simple, it can be really dangerous to ground yourself to the wall plug ground, any unwanted electrical discharges on that ground will be connected to you... Any malfunctioning device on the electrical network and even lightnings!
+SquidPlays Got it built already, in fact I'm using it for this reply. I went a step farther and also got a anti static mat to go with the wrist strap. (First time builder)
You cant get shocked as long as the PSU is connected to a grounding outlet with a 3 prong plug and turned off. Just keep your PSU turned off but plugged in and when you clip the band to it all the static goes through it and into the the ground. As long as it is off the PSU will not draw enough power from the outlet to shock anything.
The anti-static advice is excellent: in 1995, I ruined a £100 RAM card by just touching it - it was only 4 MEGABYTES!! For £100!! That's almost $200!!!!
I never took any precaution on any of my builds and they worked and do work fine. Although if I were to make a pc for someone else I would take precaution.
You know it's kind of amazing how every single one of these ESD wriststrap videos talks about what to do/what not to do, but they never actually demonstrate good practices in action, or go through full PC builds, or whatever other example of sensitive work you can think of, while talking about why they are doing what they're doing when it comes to ESD. The video I watched before this one was of a guy using an ESD wriststrap for the first time, and I Shit you not, he said in the first few minutes of the video "Not sure what I should be clipping this to." As engineers/computer geeks/programmers, etc. we should be better at this than cooks are at describing recipes.
I see that you know about this, so i think you can answer another thing xD Does cable management really matter at airflow? I mean, i bought a pc but it comes assebled, the cable management is pretty bad, cause they do not use the back of ther motherboard, but, cables are not near any fan. indeed, they are accumulated near the hdd and it seems non-obstrusive. I'm spanish, That is the explanation of my spelling :v
It's a terrible idea to touch a plugged in power supply or connect an anti-static strap to one either. That will be an earth ground. When dealing with electronic components, you do not want an earth ground, you want a ground on the same level as the environment that you are working in/on. That is why the PC case is an excellent way to ground yourself when working with PC parts.
No, you are grounded to the case. Why do you think you get shocked when you touch a metal shopping cart or a metal chair? You become grounded to that piece of metal. This goes exactly the same with a computer case. If you touch the computer case and get shocked, you have gotten rid of your static electricity and are now at an equal level or ground with the case and electronic components being installed.
That's fine. I'm not trying to give advice, just state the facts. Either way will technically still protect you from statically killing your components but grounding to a case alone is arguably better.
LinusTechTips Thanks for the video! Most of this series I already knew, But you always teach me something. Love your videos. Also, Your channel name is LinusTechTips - But you never do anything concerning linux! As my main operating system, and my favorite youtuber, You two should meet each other. Warthunder is on linux, Metro last light, Benchmarks would be greatly appreciated. With almost every game i've tested, resource usage is much less at all around on linux at the exact same settings, with a fresh install of w8, w7, and linux. You could even debunk common myths such as 'Linux is hard to use' 'Linux has no windows compatibility, and there is no linux equivalent of the software I need' You're a great face in the PC community, but so is linux! Booting up Ubuntu is one of the best experiences i've ever had, not to mention using it. Also, That graphics card is beautiful. I know this probably won't ever be seen, But that's okay.
man I just wanted to say, I have been following your vids now for like 3 weeks and omg I have learned SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much from you. just want to say thanks for bringing us great content that's easy for new pc builders to understand. you deserve a sub
I've read that a lot of computer components have been designed to better resist electrostatic discharge so that you should be able to build a PC on a shag carpet, in fleece clothing, and in the middle of thunderstorm without frying it. Still, the more precautions you take, the less likely you are to damage something. Therefore, be prudent and take as many precautions as you can while building a system. Working on a wooden surface and occasionally grounding yourself after moving around should allow you to build without problems.
bro i have learnt so muchfrom all you videos in such a short time. like watching too many and realising its 3am and you have work at 7am. but seriously im nuilding a pc atm and helped a shit tonne!.
I just touch something that's metal and grounded every once-in-a-while. I don't wear an anti-static wrist strap, sometimes I even wear polyester. I just put the parts on top of their boxes and in my 10 years of building PCs I have never killed any component through ESD ever.
hi can you help me with something? i don't really understand the words "ground" or "wall" when someone is talking about anti static safety or stuff like that cuz english is not my main language.. touching a grounded psu means that it has to be connected to a power outlet? or i can just touch it even if it's on the table and it's not connected to anything?
I used to work in a Electronics manufacturing plant and the key was.....don't put pcb's on top of any anti static bag because the outside is conductive. This was something explained in great detail through out the ESD training soooo....proof is that in the manufacturing process even in a Electro-Static controlled environment still follow the same guidlines as if you were building or working electronics in your home. Ground your self to be safe, multiple ways if possible.
You can attach the wrist strap to any metal object that is connected to the ground at some point. Outlets in some countries may be grounded in some way but use care to only attach to the ground lead, screw, or casing and depending on the design these may not all be grounded. An alternative is to attach to metal plumbing because gas and water pipes are typically grounded if they have continuous metal connections and are buried in the earth when they leave the building. If you absolutely cannot find a way to ground adequately in the space you are in an you can try insulating instead of relying on grounding. To do this you would use latex gloves and use extra care while handling. It is considered a less than ideal solution because of the chance of bumping the electronics with some part of your body that is not insulated. You should also try to discharge at least some of the static by touching something metal nearby before starting to work such a metal chair or refrigerator. You probably won't feel a spark but it will be discharging a tiny amount.
***** You mostly need it when handling the motherboard, graphics card, RAM, and other circuit boards but it is a good idea to just keep it on whenever you have the side panel open on the case. Many people get away with not using one when installing RAM or graphics cards but it is safest to use one all the time. You should also avoid touching the components on the circuit boards and handle the boards by the edges whenever possible.
Just to clarify, if you're hooking the aligator clip on your ESD bracelet onto something that's painted (like your pc case or the power supply), make sure that the teeth go through the paint and into the metal beneath. Otherwise the paint might insulate you from the ground, making your ESD bracelet useless.
I used to work at a place where we had grounded benches, we could plug our wrist-stat into a plug and be grounded.... we had an anti-static spray we'd put on the surface to wipe it clean of dust. And we had an air de-ionizer above the bench.
I must be one lucky dude. I work on my pc by sitting down on the carpet, removing the side panel, and doing what I gotta do. Never used a wrist strap at home but I will keep a foot on my case while I work if I remember to. And somehow I've never fried anything ever. XD
Same here...I actually (ashamed) never knew this stuff can happen so easy. I unplugged, and plugged in my GPU milion of times, mobo and CPU few times also, not to talk about RAM. Most of time I would do it on carpet or my couch, and I guess, I never damaged something. Now Im getting new mobo and new RAM, and I found out about this, kinda made me nervous cause I don't know how to do it, even after watching this
Just stay in contact (skin to metal) with your case and it should be ok. Or at least that's what my prof. and experience has taught me. I'm sure it'll go well.
Tyler Canich Been working on PCs for 20 years and no one had a wrist strap thingy back then. The ESD scare is a fairly new phenomenon, back in the day you'd ground yourself by touching the metal case and go to work.
blastedstorm The bottom of motherboard itself is insulated, but this is too thin to prevent an electrostatic discharge to jump through, since it's designed to run at 1 to 12V.
***** It isn't for most bags, which are the kind that are semi-transparent and looks shiny. But you're not forced to believe me, you can use a multimeter on one and see by yourself.
Oh my fucking God. So much damn misinformation on the Internet. The inside and outside of the bag are made of the same exact material. Yes, the bag is slightly conductive but the skin on your fingers are more conductive than the material of the bag. The fact that it's even slightly conductive is why people don't recommend it. You should set it on a nonconductive surface.
LINUS: "Linus Tech Tips takes no responsibility for bad this that may happen to you " TRANSLATION: "Don't sue us if you're an idiot and electrocute yourself." 🤣🤣🤣
One additional tool you can use to reduce the risk of ESD is anti-static spray. The spray designed for this purpose works best but is a little bit expensive. You can spray the circuit boards down before installing them - it only takes a thin coat. Let them drip dry completely before installing. Some people use anti-static spray designed for fabric such as Static Guard brand spray and it also works but leaves some sticky residue and as it is an off label use - use it at your own risk. Do not use any of these sprays while the components are connected to power, even if it is turned off. Using the professional purpose designed spray will also help clean your boards and help to keep them from attracting more dust for a short time.
Hey you're probably never gonna see this but if you do can you tell me what you usually build on I'm trying to build my first pc and I'm not sure if I should get a non conductive mat like the one from GN or I should just use my mother board box
@@adrianw7091 will it work with woodem floor or a cheap "cardboard table?" Ive never grounded myself while building pcs but iam doing it now for my rtx 2080 super build
In the UK if you are grounding yourself via a wall outlet you need the pin from the top of the plug (the ground pin) connected to the alligator clip and then put the pin in the top of the outlet thats the ground (or earth as we brits call it) and you cant miss the earth hole because the live and neutral holes are behind safety shutters
pff I do 90% of my computer building on carpet with no fancy wrist strap or touching anything ground and always touch the components on my hardware and I've never had a problem. It is all a load of crap if you ask me.
You can also touch a large metal object (such as a computer case) instead. This is called a floating ground (basically, the object is large enough that a bunch of electrons will barely affect how negatively charged it is.
I'll just build my PC on my carpet and hold it with my socks so that it doesn't explode. I'll also remember to turn on all my components while assembling them thanks
Graphic's cards are pretty static resistant, CPU's and RAM are the things you have got to worry about motherboards being a close third. HDD's nowadays are pretty static resistant too I constantly handle bear hard drives with a docking bay and just leave them on the side and I haven't had any problem. The once inside my PC are the once which fail but that's not surprising considering they are being constantly used. Where as the once outside are left offline laying on my desk most the time. Things like NIC's and Sound card's are usually pretty static resistant as well but I would take greater care considering workmanship is a lot more shoddy on those kinda of things.
it wont work the metal has to be attached the earth so unless you are building the system on your lawn it wont work, you can attach it to your plumbing as that leads in to ground.
It can depend on the bag the item is packed in. Rather than just guessing and risking an expensive component,just get an anti-static mat that creates a proper ground for electronics.
I don't understand as much how to use the ESD strap. cuse im building my first pc soon so do i just put the strap on and attach it to something metal? PLEASE HELP ME!!!
strap it on and attach the alligator clip to the ground terminal or negative terminal of any electricity outlet; or to any conducting material that's plugged in to an electricity outlet, but switched off. If you happen to clip the strap to any positive electrical terminal (the red wires) you'll die or at least get some sort of sever burn.
what i do with mine is get a powerbar and get a cable with a grounding prong, cut the cable and strip the wires, there should be three, your positive and negative and then your third is the grounder, seperatly tape off the positive and negative to keep them out of the way, note if they do touch you will get a blue arc flame, this is bad, don't let this happen, finally connect the aligator clip to the grounder wire that you previously stripped. you esd will be now out of the way and you will be consistantly grounded.
Something people were taught in the early days of computers to remove static without a strap is lick or wet your finger (just a bit) then touch something grounded, i guess it does a bit more than touching it with dry fingers (let fingers dry before touching electronic stuff)
use a wrist band,use a mains plug adaptor for wrist bands,they have a 1M-10M resistor in series with the ground pin so static can "LEAK" away,and you may zap static sensitive electronics without them dying,but will shorten the components life span. I prefer to plug into the system ground as not all shiny surfaces are connected to a good ground,and i don't mean mirrors.
BULLshit. I've been "into" computers, hardware, audiocomponents etcetera since 1986 or so, I never, EVER used any "antistatic" precautions and NEVER encountered any electronic device failing because "I didn't use antistatic precautions".
It's a situational and especially locational thing. Apparently neither of those things are actual words. Anyway, it all depends on location and where you're handling parts. For some people it's absolutely necessary, myself included since I get static shocks frequently from simple stuff like touching door knobs and turning light switches on.
my house is lined with carpet, i'll take the precautions, only takes one time to fuck it all up, not following precautions can be fine, in most cases, but they're their to stop you having a real fucked up day
Dude you guys have video for everything. Needed this guide before touching my new pc build.
9 лет назад
Funny, in all the 35 years of buiding computers, I have never had any problem with static killing components. I have even tried it by rubbing my feet on nylon carpeting and building the computer (even back in the old 486 days,) but, nope, still nothing. Perhapsi I just don't conduct static in my body? Or its BS! I like the latter.
+DAGATHire To be fair, with the cellphone while pumping gas, the actual reason they dissuade you from using it is because people tend to get distracted while on the phone, and that can lead to an actual situation that causes problems. Getting a static charge from moving out of your car back onto the seats and back to the pump does actually cause a charge great enough to spark aerated gasoline, and it's not uncommon for people to do that sort of thing while chatting on the phone. Unfortunately stupid took only two words from each sentence on why they should do something(as stupid people are want to do) and made up a story to fill in the blank. It's sorta like how some are convinced that the brand ADIDAS must stand for "All Day I Dream About Soccer" despite the fact that it's a play on the creators last names (Adi and Dassler I believe) and Adidas is the Greek God of Sports. Stupid people just want to believe what they want to believe, logic be damned.
ESD is very high voltage and can burn out transistors, which in turn can alter the performance of a component (instabilities, worse than expected oc results), if not brick it entirely (who knows maybe a certain component wasn't doa, but you killed it instead). If you want proof of this please refer to the beautiful realm of physics. P.S. even high voltage esd discharges may happen unnoticed by humans, so please don't give me the, i never noticed a discharge, so no discharges ever happened argument.
yogibear2k10 Don't mean to be rude, but how do you know that you have never destroyed or altered a component due to static electricity. In your time building computers you must have received some doa components, how do you know that you did not destroy them, remember that you cannot always tells if you discharge static. PLUS a strap costs about as much as a can of coke, what do you mean a waste of money. And please learn physics before you say "maybe in the 1950's but not today" There is no magical voltage protection on transistors. Here are some numbers, a computer component can be damaged by a 10-20 volt discharge, whilst a human cannot feel a discharge under 3000 volts, in short, yes you can easily kill a transistor TODAY with a static discharge that you may not even feel, that is why I make the doa component argument. Remember, in electrical components over-volting is in many cases much more deadly than over amping.
yogibear2k10 It's nice to hear that you have never had to fret about doa components. Additionally, I didn't want to come across as fearmongering in my previous comment, your working environment and even the material of your clothes can largely (if not fully) prevent static discharges. It was great having a chat with you. Have a Merry Christmas!
0:58 The entire bag is conductive not just the outside, it is supposed to eliminate a static charge inside of the bag during shipping (from vibration, like rubbing a balloon) You actually should place the motherboard on the bag since it grounds your motherboard (after you touch the bag of course) BUT never put the BAG under the motherboarc WHEN IN USE THIS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE Only when building its good to put it on top
I've been building pc's for about 9 years now. The only time I used those armbands was at school where they taught me about ESD. I've never used them on personal pc builds or pc's that I build for friends and family. I've never had a computer suddenly die on me or just not work. What I do, before I start touching pc components, is to touch the ground connector in the wall socket with my finger.
Rick te Kronnie Don't touch the ground directly, that can be very dangerous... The Anti-static wrist straps that plugs into the wall outlet has a 1MΩ resistance in them for a reason. You can simply touch a metal part of the computer case before manipulating components and it will be fine.
HCkev I've done it for years, never had an issue, never felt a shock or anything. Your body itself has resistance aswell, doesn't that count? Probably isn't 1 Ohm though
Rick te Kronnie You only start to feel static shocks when they get to be around 1000 to 4000 volts; every time you move around and touch something metal, you're discharging a small shock and usually never notice it, unless you move around so much that you build up a large static charge (like dragging your feet on carpet). It would only take a small shock of 5 to 10 volts to damage or fry a component, and at that low of voltage you'd never be able to feel it. That's why people recommend taking precautions, because even the small shocks you can't feel can damage your PC's components. Usually the damage done is small enough that you won't notice it, though too much damage from static shocks to components can start to corrupt things or cause random errors. Anti-static bracelets that are properly grounded can prevent most of the damaging static shocks, and it's really not the big of an inconvenience to wear one. It's kind of like wearing helmets, some people wear them, some don't, it depends on whether you want to be safe or take your chances.
***** I know those shocks are to small to feel, whats your point? Also driving a motorcycle or scooter without a helmet and/or in shorts and a t-shirt is illegal here, unless the scooter has an engine capacity of 49cc or less and is limited to 25km/h (15mph)
You can pretty much ground your self by touching anything on PC case, because the case has enough metal to work as a ground. Yes the ground on the power plug is guaranteed, but we are talking about so small amount of electricity. My suggestion is that don't use wool based clothing, touch the case or microwave?, take out the components and put them on to the boxes they came in and you are pretty much secure.
Linus, you're always schooling us on static safety. personally I have never practised a safe static workstation. I never thought it was a concern until I heard you say so in your other videos and after watching this one. So, I would like to see a video where you attempt to damage a component or piece of hardware with static electricity on purpose, might be a good video for channelsuperfun ! Let me know what you think. I love what you and the team do, keep it up!
to the people saying the bag isnt conductive and that theyve witness a motherboard be placed on it and nothing happened well esd (electric static discharge) damage, can happen on a microscopic level so just because it doesnt seem like it fried and runs fine doesnt mean damage hasnt been done, sometimes it can go unnoticed completely for a long time but believe something likely as been damaged and will cause your component to degrade faster than usual.
Just touch the back of the PC case frequently to discharge static electricity while you build. Or buy an anti-static wrist strap that has an alligator clip that you can clip onto the back of the PC case. They're usually only $3-$10. But generally, discharging at the back of the case is good enough.
Wow I did not know it was not good to lay down your components on top of the electro static bag. Good thing for the tech quickie vids. Last time i'll make that mistake
Fun Fact: the socks and sandals are actually constantly grounding linus so he never has to worry about static. science has shown that this is the only shoe and sock combination that has these properties.
