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Old mentor told me to always ground myself before touching customer PCs, called me lazy for skipping it.
After frying a motherboard on a Dell Optiplex last Tuesday because I didn't bother grounding, I had to eat crow and admit he was right, anyone else learn that lesson the hard way?
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tyler_wilson1mo ago
Blew up a power supply once while grounded to a pipe that turned out to be plastic, so I feel your pain on the "learning the hard way" train. At least your motherboard died quick instead of making you smell burnt electronics for a week.
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gonzalez.reese1mo ago
Nah, a good anti-static strap does the same thing with zero hassle.
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Have you ever actually tried to work with a strap while you're elbow-deep in a computer case? They're great for bench work but if you're moving around or swapping parts in a tight space they just get in the way and snag on everything. A mat gives you that solid ground plane under the whole workspace (which honestly feels more foolproof to me). Plus with a strap you still gotta remember to clip it to something grounded or it's basically a fancy bracelet.
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