Reply 20 of 26, by RussD
appiah4 wrote on 2020-03-25, 20:37:derSammler wrote on 2020-03-25, 17:41:That's not the same, because you have no shielding to discharge any electric charge between the PC and the device you plug in when using a plastic i/o shield.
But just as with ESD, people tend not to listen. It's just a word of warning. You are free to use a 3d-printed i/o shield if you don't care.
Sammler, as long as the ports themselves are connected to the PCB ground plane (which they are) there is no reason for extra grounding through the IO plate. What you say does not make sense electrically..
High speed signals work differently than DC. When you have a high speed signal, such as noise or ESD, you don't want that signal to travel through the motherboard. In the case of noise it can cause interference or in the reverse direction, radiate it. In the case of ESD, it can cause damage to components. The IO shield and case provide a better path for those high frequency signals to travel, without it 100% of that will go into your motherboard, and since it's high frequency, not just the ground plane.