The Serpent Rider wrote on 2021-02-27, 13:17:It isn't really. Sure, you can kill or permanently damage something with static, but there are many factors which must be includ […]
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Ozzuneoj wrote:or ESD isn't that big of a deal..
It isn't really. Sure, you can kill or permanently damage something with static, but there are many factors which must be included for that to happen.
Can static KILL your PC? (ft. Electroboom) (Part 1)
What It Takes to Break a RAM with ESD (ft. Linus Tech Tips) (Part 2)
Right, I've seen those. Funny stuff. 🤣
I agree to an extent if we're just talking about using the parts today.
Still, we're dealing with old hardware. Subjecting them to years, possibly decades, of improper storage without ESD protection, with the intent of keeping them for "retro" use for many more years is certainly a gamble that absolutely no one here can honestly say they fully understand.
Linus has probably already long forgotten about the old RAM stick zapped in that video. However, if I had a choice between an Adlib Gold that had been stored in an antistatic bag and one that had definitely not, I would certainly choose one that had been stored with at least some care. In the end I know it at the very least it will have had some protection from scrapes and scratches.
I don't see any reason to stop using static shielding bags, even if I don't have a lab to analyze whether static is doing long term damage.
Like I said, I'm not going to go crazy with precautions, but to say that I know that ESD doesn't matter now and won't *ever* is a bit presumptuous. It takes hardly any money (if you know where to look) and basically no time to put things in bags. Compared to the risks, expense, time, skill and energy involved in recapping devices (another common preventative thing people do before they have problems), storing them in ESD bags is a much easier precaution to keep this stuff functional for another 20-30 years.
Now for some blitting from the back buffer.