[LAUGHTER]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome to "DIY Tryin."
Science.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are going
to test a hypothesis that
big old sparks can kill a PC.
Or they'll overclock it.
So every time we build a PC, we
get a lot of YouTube comments
saying that we should be wearing
static wristbands to protect
the components.
I am now safely grounded
and can build a PC
without endangering
components, health, or safety.
So we've never had
issues with it.
But it probably is a good idea.
So we're going to use my Van de
Graaff generator that I built.
And we're going to shock a
whole lot of PC components
and see what actually fails.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Michael, he keeps a
Van de Graaff generator
in his bedroom at all times.
Why do you keep a Van de
Graaff generator in your house?
I built it.
And I love it.
And it's fun at parties.
Drunk people love getting
shocked, absolutely.
Being Michael's friend has
so many fringe benefits.
So you might think we've
constructed-- because we're
using science and
testing a hypothesis,
in search of more knowledge--
that we would be using
a sophisticated set of tools to
migrate the spark from the Van
de Graaff generator
to the PC case.
Instead, ladies and gentlemen,
we're using Michael.
I'm going to-- while I have
this little whisk so that--
That's not a little whisk.
But it is a whisk.
So I'm going to touch the
Van de Graaff generator
and touch the components
that we want to test out.
And we can see what happens.
Michael is going to
attempt to kill this
quickly and efficiently,
by zapping the PCB board.
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Oh, we turned it off.
But will it restart?
There's nothing important
on there, right?
Is it dead?
I think it might be dead.
The computers isn't
recognizing it anymore.
The motherboard is
still good, though.
What do you want to zap next?
Let's do RAM.
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Oh yeah.
That was a good one.
I love how you hit it
with multiple zaps.
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Oh, that's two chips
and both connectors.
If that doesn't do it--
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Hey, Michael?
Yeah.
I think you've zapped it.
All right.
Let's see if it still works.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
That's a post code.
It's dead.
So, RAM?
Yep, it's susceptible
to electric shock.
Who would have thought?
Multiple, violent
electric shocks.
Dude, you hit it four times with
half-inch, inch-long sparks.
Might as well go all out.
Remind me to never piss you off.
Do we have many components left?
Yes.
We actually have the GPU.
So I think it's the capacitors,
maybe, that are dying.
Get overloaded?
So I'm going to go
straight for them.
No.
No.
Oh.
I saw a flicker that time.
GPU is still going.
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Oh.
I can feel the hairs on my arm.
Ah.
[LAUGHTER]
Did we kill it?
We might have killed it,
not just the video card,
but maybe the whole motherboard.
Shut it down.
Let's pull the video card.
OK.
Maybe things connected
to the motherboard
shouldn't be shocked.
[LAUGHTER]
Oh.
I don't want it to
shock the motherboard.
OK, it's still good.
So video card dead.
I'm noticing a trend here.
That violence electric
shocks applied directly
to the components and
the PCBs cause failure?
Something like that.
I think that's part of
the scientific process.
Observation.
OK.
Let's try doing--
just shocking the case
and see if that does anything.
And then we can move
on to the motherboard.
[CHAINSAW SOUND]
[SNAPPING SOUNDS]
Shocking the case.
It doesn't seem like
anything is happening.
OK.
We're going for the motherboard.
Oh, I wouldn't want to be
that motherboard right now.
But, if you're thinking
to yourself, what I really
should be doing right now
is advancing my education
and learning skills to get me
ahead in the modern workplace,
we have an answer for
you, ladies and gentlemen.
What is this?
Lynda.com/DIY--
well, this is useful.
But, if you want to learn better
Photoshop skills, programming,
or any of-- well, actually an
incredible array of subjects--
Lynda.com/DIY, keep stuff free.
Support the show, and keep
us doing stuff like this.
[LAUGHTER]
Whatever this is.
Shocked over and over again.
I'm going to plug it back in and
see if we can kill the machine
itself.
[CHAINSAW NOISE]
The litany of death, the
hard drive, PCB dead,
memory dead, GPU dead.
Case does not die.
Now the motherboard.
Ah!
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Oh.
That's dead.
Michael, it's dead.
Michael, you can stop.
Never.
[LAUGHTER]
Are you wearing an
anti-static strap?
I am.
I guess we should probably test
out if these actually work.
So there will be
an initial shock.
Yes, I would call it a shock.
But we saw before that shocking
the case didn't matter.
So we're grounded to the case.
And then, now--
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Nothing.
Nothing.
No shock.
I bet I could-- yes, I
can touch you-- now, OK.
That's not too bad.
It's magic.
Yeah, but I'm still
getting zapped.
All right.
So these do work.
You were right, YouTube.
We're sorry.
So you're totally going
to start building PCs
wearing static straps now?
Absolutely not.
If you'd like to see what we
can do with Twitch to help
your Android phone
control everything,
or make lock picks
out of metal scraps
so you can break
into anything, you
should check out these
episodes right here on YouTube.
And if you think we're
idiots, do us a favor.
Tweet, @DIYTryin, or email
at diytryin@revision3.com,
or comment down below.
I'm Patrick Norton.
I'm Michael Hand.
We'll see you next
week on "DIY Tryin."
Later.
You keep doing that, dude.
It hurts a lot.
And you keep doing it.
Hit it again.
[SNAPPING SOUND]
Ah!
Yow!
I don't like the strap.
[LAUGHTER]
Ow!
It hurts!
Ow!
Wow, dude!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
