Haha thank you! I'm trying to spend as little as possible for the best machine possible... I'm now also thinking that I might up it to 16GB of RAM because Scan are selling off some low profile Corsair Vengeance for £30 for an 8GB kit, seems like a steal. UPDATE: Just gone and placed my order with Scan; Intel Core i5-3570K 8GB Corsair Vengeance Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Corsair CX500W PSU Antec Kuhler H2O 620
I should be getting all the parts tomorrow but here's a question for the expert builders out there; how essential is an anti-static wrist strap? I've worked with PCs a lot, and I'm well in the habit of frequently grounding myself on a case or radiator beforehand. I've never used a strap before when I've upgraded graphics cards, hard drives, memory etc. I'd be working on a hard floor (not carpet) and building on a wooden table. Any comments?
I've built 20ish now and not used a wrist strap, seems redundant, just ground yourself on something nearby and avoid wearing nylon shell suits on wool carpet
I always wear a strap. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that you don't need one. But of those people who say you don't need to wear one. How many have the ability and inclination to actually diagnose if a fault was caused by electro-static discharge. Apparently faults aren't instantaneous but can degrade connections and the like causing problems later on down the line. Really its not that hard to wear a ground strap and it only costs a few quid. Also grounding yourself on a case isn't very good if you are touching a painted case. It needs to be bare metal
This is a very good point. Seeing as the CM690 II is painted inside, this could make things difficult. I guess I could just use my old case to earth as I'll have that beside me as I swap components. Cheers for that, I never thought of that.
Remember you need to earth the case as well, it can't be just a metal case. My case is plastic or painted. When I was rebuilding I installed the power supply. Then I screwed a screw into an unused hole somewhere in the case. I then used that screw as a bonding point. It's unlikely for there to be any paint in the threads of the hole and if there is, turning a screw in it will strip any paint thus making the ground connection. This is how the power supply connects the case to ground, through the screws you use to install it.
Thanks, that's a good idea. Makes sense about the power supply too, I'd never really thought about it. UPDATE: Bought and built all the parts successfully. Ended up getting another 8GB of RAM because it was cheap on Scan! Adam from Scan was also a top lad, upgrading me to a CX600W free of charge when it transpired that my CX500W was out of stock and therefore holding up my order. Yet again top marks to Scan.