Grounding PSUs in painted cases

[lamarth]

How necessary is this, especially for overclocking? I'm painting the inside of my case, and it's got the kind of mobo tray that if you remove the side panel on the mobo side of the case and remove a few screws securing the tray, the tray 'tips' down to expose the mobo. The tray is hinged at the bottom of the case.

I got to wondering- since the tray isn't permanently fastened to the case- and what few points of contact there are will probably have paint on them - would I perhaps need a ground strap running to the tray from either the PSU case or at least the PC case? Or will the grounding thru the PSU cables be enough?

 

[Ice Czar]

well if you get down to the nittygritty of it, the surface of the paint itself can have an isolated charge regardless of any ground straps (the advantage of anodizing I gather) since its often a decent insulator.

 

[lamarth]

Actually, I was not so much thinking about the possibility of electrostatic buildup/discharge (although that's a excellent point- I had not thought of that....) but more about having poor electrical power ground due to insulation via the paint and the construction of the case. I'll be running a overclocked Prescott so I know I'm going to be drawing some amps here and I wouldn't want to have problems due to poor grounding.

 

[Ice Czar]

well the mobo itself isnt gounded to the mobo tray
(think about the plastic standoffs sometimes employed)
having all the metal components of the case grounded isnt going to hurt
but Im not so sure how much its going to help either with the paint
there are conductive paints but probably not in the color and finish your thinking of.

Basically Id say the question is mostly moot (tray)
and that a little extra care with the painted surfaces is likely in order
obviously there are a ton of painted cases out there, and the mobo isnt the only component you worry about grounding
(but your right its done via the power connectors)

you might want to review the ESD & Electromigration Rant
especially the part about relative humidity
or the ESD: Truth, myths and flat out lies thread in Electronics (where some real live EEs join in)
you might even want to park an ESD\Paint question in that thread to watch the expert feeding frenzy

Id employ at least a little more care with a painted case over a bare metal one

 

[lamarth]

Erk.....yes, you're right. I forgot about the plastic standoffs being used. I only remembered that the mounting screw areas did have pads that looked to be on the ground plane of the motherboard, so I thought that there was a possible common ground path between it and the PSU. But if one is running plastic standoffs though then obviously it's moot as you say.

Thanks for the links- I'll go check them out and perhaps stir the pot with my question over on the Electronics forum

 

[atom]

Your case is grounded more for EMI than anything else. EMI is the interference the FCC comes busting through your door and shuts your computer down over. No just kidding. But seriously, EMI will make your monitor have inteference like crazy, not to mention your speakers, your tv, your phone. Grounding the case makes it act as a shield. It is often grounded through the power supply case, so remove the paint where the power supply touches the case and your all set.

 

[jonnyGURU]

atom is right. Cases are grounded to reduce EMI. All of your powered components are grounded via the power supply and the power supply is grounded via the third prong on the plug. No worries.