ZisaLog: Beginner’s Guide to Building a Custom PC 
When building a custom PC, static electricity can cause malfunctions, so it is important to take proper precautions.
A simple and common way to prevent static electricity is to discharge yourself by touching a metal part.
If using tools, anti-static gloves, anti-static mats, and discharge bands are also effective.
In addition, paying attention to clothing and the environment can help reduce the occurrence of static electricity.
By taking these precautions, it is possible to prevent troubles with custom PCs before they happen.
This article explains in detail how to effectively prevent static electricity when building a custom PC.
- Static electricity can cause custom PC failures, so prevention is important
- The basic static electricity prevention is to discharge by touching a metal part
- Wear cotton clothing and avoid synthetic fibers
- Use anti-static gloves, anti-static mats, and discharge bands to release static electricity
- Be careful in winter, as dry air makes static electricity more likely
- Using a humidifier to maintain humidity can suppress static electricity
Ken
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Table of Contents
About Static Electricity Prevention for Custom PCs
When assembling a custom PC, it is necessary to take measures to protect delicate parts and precision components from static electricity.
Before getting into specific measures, let’s first look at the basics of static electricity and its effects on PC parts.
How Static Electricity Occurs
Static electricity is generated when objects of different materials come into contact and rub against each other.
When objects are rubbed together, tiny areas on their surfaces touch, and charges are exchanged at these contact points.
After the objects are separated, the exchanged charges remain on each object, causing static electricity.
This movement of charges due to friction is the cause of static electricity.
When the human body or clothing comes into contact with PC parts, friction can generate static electricity, especially with materials like plastic, metal, and synthetic fibers.
Ken
Environmental Factors
The occurrence of static electricity is also affected by temperature and humidity.
Especially during dry winter periods, the low humidity in the air makes static electricity more likely to occur.
Ken
On the other hand, when humidity is high, the air can efficiently dissipate charges, so static electricity is less likely.
Therefore, in seasons other than winter, static electricity is less likely to occur.
Effects of Static Electricity on PC Parts
Failures caused by static electricity can range from obvious damage that can be seen or parts that stop working completely, to partial failures that are hard to notice.
Obvious failures are not good because the part needs to be replaced, but at least the cause is clear, and it is easy to identify the faulty part by checking the parts that were exposed to static electricity.
However, sometimes parts may still work but lose some functions or performance, or become unstable and cause occasional errors.
These types of failures are hard to notice, and even if static electricity is the cause, it may not be identified.
Since there are many possible causes, such as OS or application settings, it becomes difficult to pinpoint the real reason.
Therefore, it is essential to take static electricity precautions to avoid troublesome issues later on.
About Static Electricity Prevention
For custom PCs, static electricity prevention includes discharging your body before working, paying attention to clothing, creating an environment where static electricity is less likely, and using anti-static products.
By properly taking these measures, it is possible to prevent static electricity problems when assembling a custom PC.
How to Prevent Static Electricity When Building a Custom PC
Here are some simple ways to protect important parts from static electricity.
Discharge by Touching Metal Parts
Discharging by touching metal parts is the basic static electricity prevention when building a custom PC.
Since static electricity can damage parts, it is important to always discharge static electricity from your body before starting work.
The easiest way to discharge is to touch a metal part such as a doorknob or water faucet.
It is also possible to discharge by touching the PC case, but most cases have rubber feet, so the discharge effect is limited.
To discharge properly, the case needs to be grounded, but since rubber is an insulator and does not conduct electricity well, it cannot be considered grounded.
Therefore, cases with rubber feet are electrically isolated from the ground, so static electricity does not escape to the ground.
If the case does not have rubber feet, it is fine to discharge by touching the metal part of the case.
Taking these precautions just before assembly can reduce the risk of static electricity-related failures.
Clothing When Assembling a Custom PC
For clothing material, clothes made from natural fibers such as cotton are recommended.
Synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon are prone to static electricity, so it is better to avoid clothes made from these materials.
Also, for the type of clothing, choose clothes that fit the body as much as possible and avoid clothes that rub against other objects.
Loose clothing is comfortable and convenient, but increases friction and makes static electricity more likely.
Ken
Also, there is a risk that clothes may get caught on parts and cause them to fall, or fibers may get stuck in parts and cause a short circuit.
Anti-Static Gloves
Anti-static gloves are made of conductive materials and prevent static electricity from being discharged from the human body.
This greatly reduces the risk of PC parts being damaged by static electricity.
Conductivity means the ability to conduct electricity, but some may wonder if this makes static electricity more likely.
In the case of anti-static gloves, the conductivity is designed to safely discharge static electricity, and the conductivity of the gloves is controlled.
They are made from materials (such as fabric containing conductive fibers) with weak conductivity, so static electricity is discharged slowly and safely through the gloves.
This prevents sudden large discharges (sparks) to parts and allows safe handling of parts.
Also, the gloves prevent dirt and oil from the hands from sticking to parts.
However, when doing detailed work such as installing a CPU, the gloves may make it slippery or the fibers may get caught on parts, making them difficult to use.
Personally, I try to wear them when building a custom PC, but often find them difficult to use, so I sometimes work with bare hands.
As long as I discharge by touching metal parts, that is usually enough.
Therefore, if you don’t like the inconvenience, it is fine to assemble with bare hands.
On the other hand, if you want to be extra safe or use gloves only when handling certain parts, it is a good idea to have them ready.
Anti-Static Mats
Like gloves, these mats are made of conductive materials and help safely discharge static electricity from the body.
They are easy to use—just touch the mat before assembling your custom PC to reduce static electricity.
However, one thing to note is that this product has a strong smell.
It doesn’t spread far, but if you bring your nose close to the product, you will notice a somewhat strong, chemical-like smell.
Ken
Discharge Bands / Anti-Static Wrist Straps
Discharge and anti-static wrist straps are made of conductive fibers and consist of a wristband, a wire, and a clip for grounding.
By wrapping the band around your wrist and attaching the clip to a metal part, you can prevent static electricity.
If the person wearing the wristband accumulates static electricity, it is safely discharged to the ground through the wire.
This prevents static electricity from discharging directly to parts when touched.
The downside is that your arm is connected to a nearby metal part by a wire, which can limit your range of movement or make the wire get in the way.
Also, be sure to wear the discharge band directly on your skin, not over clothing.
Some products only require wrapping the wristband and do not ground, but these are not the discharge/anti-static bands explained here, so be careful.
As for products without grounding, since I haven’t researched them and they may have their own discharge mechanisms, I will not comment on whether they are effective for static electricity prevention.
Avoid Winter as Much as Possible
Cold seasons have dry air, making static electricity more likely, so it is best to avoid building during this time.
That said, if you want to build a PC in winter, it is not realistic to wait until spring just for static electricity prevention.
Therefore, it is practical to consider it lucky if you can avoid winter.
If you cannot avoid working in winter, it is important to use a humidifier to maintain proper indoor humidity.
In addition, take precautions such as touching a doorknob or using anti-static products as explained earlier when assembling.
Summary: Static Electricity Failures Are Troublesome, So Prevention Is Essential!
When building a custom PC, it is very important to take measures to prevent failures caused by static electricity.
Here is a summary of the key points.
- Static electricity can cause custom PC failures, so prevention is important
- The basic static electricity prevention is to discharge by touching a metal part
- Wear cotton clothing and avoid synthetic fibers
- Use anti-static gloves, anti-static mats, and discharge bands to release static electricity
- Be careful in winter, as dry air makes static electricity more likely
- Using a humidifier to maintain humidity can suppress static electricity
To protect a PC from static electricity, use anti-static gloves, anti-static mats, discharge static electricity from your body by touching metal parts before working, and avoid working in winter when static electricity is more likely.
By taking these precautions, it is possible to prevent troublesome static electricity failures and assemble a PC with peace of mind.
Select PC parts and online stores to instantly generate an estimate, check compatibility, and calculate power requirements. You can save up to five different builds, making it easy to try out multiple configurations.
≫ Tool：PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool
