Static Electricity and 600T

[Sockatees]

Quick question;

 

How should I ground myself with the Corsair 600T and the CX500 PSU?

 

I have an anti-static wrist strap and a glass table to work on.

 

The 600T has a painted black interior so I'm not sure what I could anti-static wrist strap to even after I attach the power supply to the 600T.

 

The screws for the power supply are also black, so I'm stumped as to what to do to ground myself - this is my first time building a computer so I really don't want to destroy everything with a zap of static which has been building up a lot due to the weather.

 

 

Thanks,

[wytnyt]

i dont worry about static,i just make sure power is unplugged for a short while.these new parts arent as static prone as they used to be.of course some psu can store up a charge if messed with the insides

[Sockatees]

Sadly the problem isn't with the computer parts, it's with me.

 

I'm very staticky or my apartment is. :[pouts:

[Toasted]

If you are planning to build your computer on a carpet floor, i'd suggest you move it to a tiled/timber floored area.

[grandvitesse]

Hello Sockatees,

 

It's not that you necessarily have to ground yourself to the Corsair case. It's that YOU are grounded. Clip your static strap to something else that is grounded in your apartment. Most wrist straps aren't very long, so I use alligator clips and attach one end to the static strap and the other end (or the other end of a series of alligator clips) to a grounded spot. I agree, that most boards are pretty static-proof nowadays, but don't against the really powerful shocks you can generate from a really static-charged environment. If you get shocks that really hurt, you could damage a PC board.

 

 

Clipping the alligator clips or the wrist strap to a kitchen faucet works. You can also partially unscrew a wall switchplate screw and clip to that, unless it is screwed into a plastic junction box rather than a metal one. A good way to test that is to rub your stocking feet on the carpet and see if you get a shock when you touch the switchplate screw. If you do, then it's grounded enough for your wrist strap. Obviously, don't clamp anything to a wall outlet directly (i.e. the outlet plug holes). Sorry, you probably wouldn't do that, but we want to make sure anyone reading this post doesn't try anything stupid.

[Sockatees]

Thanks for the clarification, it helps a lot!

 

I found a screw under the light switch which lets me discharge myself

 

So I may unscrew that and attach the wrist band on to it - but I'm more likely to periodically touch it to discharge any static electricity built up.

 

No offense was taken, it's better to be safe than sorry :)

[Arctic_Wolf]

I have a 600T, and exactly the same problem in that my entire house is carpeted, and for whatever reasons, some of those carpets can cause a massive build up of static.

 

I've fried a few parts over the years by taking stupid short cuts, fortunately only minor ones.

 

What I do is attach the crocodile clip of my wrist strap to a length of normal copper speaker wire at one end, and wind the wire from the other end around a bare metal carabina I have. Then simply stand on the carabina when I'm working inside the case or handling parts or make sure that the carabina does not lift off the ground

 

Sometimes when I go to my kitchen to turn on the tap, I get a static shock that's so bad, in lower light you can actually see the spark coming from my fingertips to the metal taps, and at times, it really can give out a substantial jolt, (AAAAGGHHHHH).

 

Whilst a lot of parts can withstand a little more static than they could 5 years ago for example, most manufacturers still recommend at least taking the correct minimal precautions, especially if your environment is one that is more prone to static build ups.