Where are the sensitive parts on mobo?

[boagz57]

You hear all the time that the build up of static electricity from your body could short the components on the mobo. I know if you ground yourself you greatly reduce this risk but I was just wondering where the sensitive parts on your mobo were? Just any exposed metal part? Is the entire back of the motherboard sensitive? should you avoid touching the back at all? If so, how do you pick up and install your mobo?

 

[St1ckM4n]

All parts on mobo are joined somewhere, so discharging your static on any place will be bad.

Just watch out for the capacitors and any spikey exposed bits, and yes the back.

Pick it up from the sides, like a CD.

 

[LukeDJ]

That being said, most decent quality motherboards are fairly resilient, so you shouldn't worry about accidentally brushing the back when you're installing it.

Just avoid gripping the important looking bits and definitely make sure to discharge yourself.

 

[GhostRyder]

Easiest way to avoid creating a tons of static:
Don't work on carpet
Touch the PSU or a metal spot on your case before starting and every few minutes or after significant movements

As stated above, most motherboards in this day and age are pretty tough unless they are bottom of the barrel boards. As long as you don't shuffle your bare feat on carpet for 20 minutes and then touch a capacitor on the board, you don't have anything to really worry about.

 

[boagz57]

Thanks guys!

 

[nazartp]

Honestly, it's not about capacitors. The biggest danger is any of the transistors and, hence, any integrated circuits on the board. Most of them are either JFET or MOSFET type, and those are sensitive to static electricity.

That being said, I never had an issue with static electricity and a motherboard.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Honestly, it's not about capacitors.

You are right but don't touch the capacitors anyway, especially the ones in the PSU.

 

[nazartp]

You are right but don't touch the capacitors anyway, especially the ones in the PSU.

We are talking about a motherboard, so why? Voltages are not nearly high enough to zap you and static electricity has pretty much no effect on the capacitors.

 

[St1ckM4n]

You can still bend/snap capacitors off the board, which is why they are mentioned.

 

[sukiblr]

Jumpers..watch out for them while cleaning or dusting...you could use a well used painting brush especially when cleaning in between fins on heatsinks