wearing gloves while building a pc?

Question

Since I'm a newbie at constructing computers, is it recommendable that I wear latex powder-free surgical gloves while I handle the parts to prevent static?

Answer 1

The goal to avoiding static is to avoid insulators. The bag that your motherboard and other parts come in is actually conductive. This connects parts of the circuit and allows the voltage to even out. It is bad when you have a difference in voltage as this could cause a sudden surge of current if connected.

Therefore, the only good part about wearing gloves is to avoid corrosion due to the oils on your skin. Everything else about it electrically is bad.

I recommend if you are worried about static to go buy an antistatic wristband...they can be found fairly cheap and would be your best solution.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2260808&cp=&sr=1&origkw=antistatic&kw=antistatic&parentPage=search

I do want to note that I have built and worked on many computers and provided you take care and try to avoid touching exposed traces and touch your case before you touch a part(to avoid static buildup) you most likely will have no issues with static electricity.

Answer 2

No, rubber gloves aren't thick enough to prevent an arc to your skin and the rubber can build up quite a charge on its surface and probably make the situation worse. Keep the computer plugged in as long as you aren't working on the power supply. The chassis will be grounded so try to stay in contact with that, if you have any wire, you can wrap that around your wrist and then screw it to the chassis, make sure the wire contacts your skin. I worked on PC components for years and never used a static strap and never broke anything with an ESD.

Answer 3

I don't recommend it.

However, if you are concerned about static, what might be better is an anti-static strap hooked to a ground source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antistatic_wrist_strap