Do You Really Need to Ground Yourself Before Touching PC Components?

When it comes to PC building, there persists a number of supposed best practices. The sort of things that get handed down from forum posts to YouTube videos to Reddit threads and so on.

Like any hobby, the veracity of these best practices can vary wildly, and one that has been making new builders anxious for years is the recommendation that one must ground themself before touching PC components. The implication being that not doing this risks zapping the part to death with a jolt of static electricity, also known as electrostatic discharge or ESD. Let's talk about it.

No. It is not necessary. While it's true that PC components can be fragile, they are not as susceptible to static electricity as they used to be. Furthermore, it is unlikely that you're going to be building or upgrading a PC in an environment that would lead to a level of static electricity high enough to damage anything.

If you're absolutely unwilling to take any risks at all during the building or upgrading process, then feel free to ground yourself if it reassures you. There is no downside to being cautious here.

The science behind ESD is that when a charged object or a person comes into contact with a conductive object or person, the built-up static electricity transfers to the object or person with lower static electricity, causing a discharge. In humans, ESD occurs when static electricity builds up on the body, often due to friction with certain materials, such as clothing or carpets. This buildup can lead to a discharge when a person comes into contact with a conductive object, resulting in a small shock.

Because PC components are conductive, they can cause an ESD. However, small ESDs are nothing to worry about. It's very difficult to kill a PC part this way. The less interesting and more common killer of components is simply dropping them on the floor or forcing them to fit somewhere they aren't supposed to go. These are more realistic things to worry about.

If you wish to ground yourself anyway, in order to maintain peace of mind, then the process is simple. Just touch a grounded conductive object, like the PSU (plugged into the wall, but switched off).

Just touch this every so often to ground yourself, allowing you to get on with the fun process of building a PC without worry.