Graphic card replacement-how to avoid static

Yorky

I've bought a replacement graphic card on Ebay - can anyone advise how it should be posted and installed to avoid any static electricity damage. Thanks in advance.

WillieDH

leave your pc power cable plugged into the wall, power switch off on the psu ( only do this if your system has a PSU power switch ) and earth youself off the PSU

Also don't wear shoes, and do it in a room with no carpet.

You could also buy an anti static strap yoke but the above works for me.

nibble

The chances of you frying anything are rather slim really, just earth yourself before you touch anything, I usually touch the copper pipe going to a radiator.

Anti

Ive been building pc's for a long time now, and never had a problem with static before....Untill last night. Just finished the build, and went to grab the ashtray off one of the lads, and a huge static charge went off. 30 seconds earlier i was handeling a qx6700 and a 8800gtx and 4gb ram... Close call i think....

IgsTer

^ lol yeah jesus..lucky you..

so all ya gotta do is keep touching a psu's shell while its plugged in and youll be safe?

Anti

And turned off. That way you earth yourself. Or you can get one of them anti-static wrist bands. And attack it to a radiator.

IgsTer

kool..well i think the psu im gettin has a switch at back..if not i could prob jus plug it in to socket and switch it off at the wall as the socket itself has one of them switch things..will that be the same..?

will it not be hard to install everything in the case with only one hand avaible

dazftw

IgsTer wrote:

^ lol yeah jesus..lucky you..

so all ya gotta do is keep touching a psu's shell while its plugged in and youll be safe?

lol I was doing it with it plugged out :eek:

Never broke anything though

IgsTer

lol..well i mgiht get one of them strap just to be sure :P

seems like itll be hard twisting screw etc with only one hand

DirkVoodoo

radiator for me too.

I think you're far more likely to break something by bending a little pin or standing on something than through static. So far I have only broken a sata power connector, touch wood.

Yorky

Now received the graphics card and anti-static wrist strap. I've read that once installed Windows will offer to install its own drivers but this should be declined and the graphic card manufacturer's drivers should be installed instead.
I've got a link to download these- should they be downloaded before or after installation?

Also, what should I attach the wrist strap to?

nibble

Yorky wrote:

Now received the graphics card and anti-static wrist strap. I've read that once installed Windows will offer to install its own drivers but this should be declined and the graphic card manufacturer's drivers should be installed instead.
I've got a link to download these- should they be downloaded before or after installation?

Also, what should I attach the wrist strap to?

Attach it to an earth, such as a copper rad pipe, anything conductive that goes into the ground will do. Just install the drivers after you install windows, doesn't matter when you download them, Windows will just use a generic driver until you install the proper drivers.

IgsTer

i think attaching the aligator clip to a screw that goes into the psu will work alright too i think? if your rads are painted like mine

L31mr0d

i went to college for electronic engineering and let me tell you it takes a lot to cause any form of ESD in electronic devices. Common sense is all you need really. Just don't lick the back of you graphics card or rub it off your hair then try and see if it will stick to the wall.

I've man handled a lot of electronic components and even TRIED to cause IC's to fail ldue to static and it is relatively hard to do. If you have sense and hold the card by the edges, don't touch any of the pins on the underside grounding yourself or leaving the pc plugged in won't even be necessary.

mathias

Among other duties , I was IBM's ESD co -ordinator for 8 years , so know a thing or two about static ,

Its a major issue in manufacturing , especially with devices now being made at 45nm and below , smaller vias are easier to puncture ,

Its also true that the Human body model , the one caused by handling , is also now the least likely to damage a component , most of the damage is done by faulty grounding on high speed handling machines ,

However heres a fact for you , 90% of memory that behaves erratically on install , is caused by ESD damage to the controller on the stick. And its all down to the force needed to push the chip in along with no anti static wristrap ( or grounded case , ). Memory chips have plastic cases and charge easily by rubbing. Its called triboelectric charging. When it clicks home in the socket , it immediately discharges fast, causing the damage.

They are 100% tested on leaving the factory , so we know they are all good going out. And a great deal of money is spent on getting said part to you in an uncharged state , those anti static bags are not the cheapest packaging that could be used.

Decapping failed modules in the lab shows the ESD damage instantly , its very unique and unmistakable.

ESD doesnt kill the component outright all the time , it can hobble it though. So next time you have memory trouble on a new build or upgrade , take a look at that lovely carpet you were working on , and try and remember if you touched the case !

311

Sorry ,could someone tell me if a TV card can cause trouble in a machine??

I have a signal booster on my cable and I'm worried about the charge running into the machine. Would a usb variant be safer ?