cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/32005086
When the postie comes, I’ll be building a PC for the first time in years. What are the do’s, don’ts and tips nowadays?
Obviously classics like RTFM, plan ahead and retrieve any dropped screws are evergreen.
Things I believe are true: tighten your CPU cooler screws evenly (like putting on a car tyre), all screws should be no more than finger tight, build in a dust-free environment.
What about grounding yourself? I remember reading that the danger of this was way overstated and e.g. anti-static wrist straps were a waste of money. Is building in a case that’s plugged in (but powered off) enough?
I’ve seen recommendations to build outside of the case first to test components - is this good advice?
Anything else?
I’m the IT equivalent of “No airbags, we die like men” in than I never wear a grounding strap.
It’s either missing, in an inconvenient place, or I simply forget. Plus it inhibits my movement. When I’m rummaging through server innards I’m usually in a hurry to get things operational again, which often means moving about a lot.
Touch the chassis, and do the same with any screws and tools to even out any static.
Yeah, same. I don’t even know if we had grounding straps available in the data center when I worked in the office. I would just touch the chassis and do my thing.