matthewmartin•21d agoProlific Poster

That moment I fried a motherboard because I forgot to unplug the PSU

Was swapping out a GPU in a client's Dell Optiplex at my workbench last Tuesday and zapped the board with static because I didn't ground myself, had to eat the $180 replacement cost out of my own pocket. Any other techs here ever learn the hard way with static discharge?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles_roberts21d ago

Yeah static is nasty but honestly I think the real hidden danger is wearing polyester blends without realizing it. I fried a board once because my fleece jacket generated a monster charge just from me shifting around. Now I keep a cheap anti-static wrist strap clipped to the case and it's saved me more times than I can count.

derek_perez21d ago

Yeah and the worst part is you never know you built up a charge until it's too late. I was working on a build once in my garage and forgot I was standing on a rubber mat, zapped the motherboard and it was dead before I even plugged it in. Now I literally touch the metal case every few minutes like some kind of ritual.