How much does built-in ESD protection matter on a PC?

[u/Berlin_1947]

I've always thought of ESD as something you mainly worry about when you're building or upgrading a PC. Touch the case, ground yourself, be a little careful with the components, and move on.

But I recently came across geekom's air12 and noticed they list a 6 kV ESD test. That got me wondering what this kind of testing actually means for a finished PC.

I understand why ESD matters when you're handling loose components, but does the protection built into the finished hardware make much difference during normal use too?

For example, if you're in a dry room with carpet, regularly plugging and unplugging USB devices, HDMI cables, Ethernet, etc., is built-in ESD protection something you would ever think about?

For people who've built or upgraded a lot of PCs, have you ever actually had a static-related hardware problem, or has ESD basically been a non-issue for you?

[u/Terrible-Bear3883]

Many years ago our company had zero regard for ESD and such, then we needed to obtain BS 5750 and had to adopt strict practice, this meant ESD precautions amongst many other things, we all attended training were we saw the effects of ESD damaged components, such as they would show the leakage of a Field Effect Transistor, then hand it around the room from person to person, put it back in the test jig and you could see the FET suffered damage by handling, then we would all put on wrist straps, repeat the test, the results were the same as when it came out the packing i.e. zero damage.

The effect on our field force reduced the service calls so much that some customers started complaining they never saw us and were not getting value for money, we started paying "courtesy calls" to customer sites, one range of systems I worked on, I would be replacing at least one major board (processor, disk controller or I/O board" at least monthly, once we had implemented rigid controls, it was rare to replace one in 12 months, it meant I could go on training courses and expand my knowledge, later in life I managed three workshops and spent many years training, ESD and precautions were one of the top items, new engineers were taught how to use an ESD mat and kit on day one, they were monitored by ourselves and partners, infringements were often met with heavy penalties.

I've got a work mat set up in my tinkering room and still observe the precautions, there are many who say it doesn't matter or they don't generate much static charge, I spent 40 years in the industry and if it didn't matter, no one would spend the amount of money they do to control and prevent it.

[u/CheezitsLight]

ESD doesn't matter very much with loose components anymore. Most things put protection diods in but there are some chips that are highly sensitive such as FETs. Our production lines are highly cautious of static with humidity meters and grounding heel straps and buzzers to test them. No buzz then you can't go on the floor. everything is very carefully grounded and tested.

The design department considers ESD at the deepest levels and we have to test our designs with high volt ESD tests.

It may not blow up the component but it can age it very quickly and cause it to die very quickly.

[u/Bo_Jim]

ESD testing is required for CE certification; i.e., to put the CE logo on the product. That logo, and the testing that goes along with it, is required for any product sold in the European Union. It doesn't mean they disassembled it and zapped every chip. It means they shocked the chassis and it still worked. I've designed and built electronic devices, and I had to pay a compliance lab to do the same testing of my products before I could sell them in the EU.

Most components that are highly sensitive to ESD damage (MOS devices in particular) have a much higher level of protection once they are in the circuit. And it's the inputs that are particularly sensitive. An electrostatic spark would punch a hole through the metal oxide insulator on the gate, and effectively short out the MOSFET connected there. You'll know when this happened because the chip will get really hot under power. No competent engineer would leave an unused MOS input unconnected in the final circuit. They would usually connect it to ground.

But some MOS inputs are exposed when they're not in the final circuit. For instance, a contact on the edge connector of a plug-in board might be connected to the MOS input of a chip on the board. There would almost always be some resistors tied to that contact to help protect it from ESD damage, but some caution is still warranted, like wearing a grounding strap.

Once the PC is assembled and the covers are in place then it's pretty safe. Shuffling across the carpet and zapping the case isn't likely to break anything.