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[xellas84]

CPU (You don't screw with this usually.  It's the chip that has a fan bolted and glued to it with thermal gel.  Leave it alone till you are SURE of what you are doing).
Motherboard (The giant board everything is attached to)
Power supply (The box that you hook the power cable into.  It runs about 15 billion various sized wires to all the parts of the PC)
RAM (These are thin chips that snap into slots on the motherboard.  You can safely remove them while the PC is off and look at them, then snap them back in place)
GPU (Video Card.  This can vary WIDELY on pc's, from something about 2x the size of a ram board to something that looks like you could club an elk to death with it.  It snaps into the motherboard via a slot, and may or may not have it's own fan and power plugin.)
Hard Drive (This is usually bolted into a rack inside the case.  It holds all your data).
CD/DVD ROM/Burner (The device that reads your CD's.  It is bolted into the case like the hard drive, but it has an external slot it faces.)

I've changed every one of those except the motherboard and processor, what I meant about out of my depth was that all I've done is plugging stuff in, whereas the processor is a bit more stuck in than that

If you've replaced RAM, you can replace a CPU.

Just carefully remove the fan over top the CPU housing, and you'll find the chip.  Destatic your hand, and then slowly pull it out straight (Some models of motherboard have a chip ejector lever or button, use it if it's available).  Place in new chip, being careful not to bend any of the little pins.  Squirt some thermal gel on top of the CPU, bolt the fan back down onto it, and you are golden.

[krenshala]

If you've replaced RAM, you can replace a CPU.

Just carefully remove the fan over top the CPU housing, and you'll find the chip.  Destatic your hand, and then slowly pull it out straight (Some models of motherboard have a chip ejector lever or button, use it if it's available).  Place in new chip, being careful not to bend any of the little pins.  Squirt some thermal gel on top of the CPU, bolt the fan back down onto it, and you are golden.

The easiest method to "destatic your hand" is to grab hold of a bare metal part of the chassis before you start messing with the guts of the computer.    Personally, I make it a habit to touch bare metal in the case before doing anything to the hardware in it just to be safe (after 20 years of computer support, I've what static can do to a computer ... sometimes nothing ... sometimes you gotta replace everything ... mostly you just have to replace the part that got "zapped").

[xellas84]

If you've replaced RAM, you can replace a CPU.

Just carefully remove the fan over top the CPU housing, and you'll find the chip.  Destatic your hand, and then slowly pull it out straight (Some models of motherboard have a chip ejector lever or button, use it if it's available).  Place in new chip, being careful not to bend any of the little pins.  Squirt some thermal gel on top of the CPU, bolt the fan back down onto it, and you are golden.

The easiest method to "destatic your hand" is to grab hold of a bare metal part of the chassis before you start messing with the guts of the computer.    Personally, I make it a habit to touch bare metal in the case before doing anything to the hardware in it just to be safe (after 20 years of computer support, I've what static can do to a computer ... sometimes nothing ... sometimes you gotta replace everything ... mostly you just have to replace the part that got "zapped").

You are very correct.  The voltage off a carpet spark you can't even see can still fry a circuit in any exposed board it hits, killing the part.

Touch either a door handle, the EXTERNAL metal of the case, or spend a couple bucks to buy an anti-static wristband.  If you have to get up in the middle of working on the machine, do it again EVERY TIME you sit back down.  In any case, experimentation with your computer, carefully done, can save you TONS of money over the long run.  Not to mention being able to order a part and slap it in yourself gets you maybe a 3 day turnaround on a new part, as opposed to some of the slower chopshops that can take a week or more.

[Bobbias]

Very true. When you get a static shock from touching something (even if you never feel it) you are discharging a HUGE voltage. According to wikipedia the human body is considered equivalent to a capacitor of 100 picofarads (kinda small, actually) charged to somewhere between 4kv and 35kv. That between 4 000 and 35 000 volts... On electronics designed to operate on voltages of between about 5 volts and 1.3 volts (depending on what part of the computer you touch). Sure, those things can handle voltages a lot higher than what they are designed to run at, but nowhere near 4 000 volts.

[Xenos]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

[rat_pack40]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

Xenos, if I had the room, I would totally sig that.

[Xenos]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

Xenos, if I had the room, I would totally sig that.

Gah!  So close...   I almost was fully adopted into the forum by getting a post sigged...soon though...I think once I begin work on my megaproject there will come some inane statement that one of you fine forum goes will find humorous.  And then I will win.

[lolghurt]

However, I have the room

[Chattox]

I have an anti-static wristband that my dad gave me after he developed an allergy to rubber and couldn't use it anymore. I use it every time I do anything with a computer and I've not had a part fry on me ever, they're pretty nift

Somewhat off topic, do you think a dwarf with a long enough beard would build up a charge from dragging it along the floor?

[Bobbias]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

Quite true. Like I said, we only hold a small number of actual electrons that have been pulled off the floor (or vice versa, I don't know which), so despite the huge voltage, there's not enough electrons moving for there to be much current. I just didn't feel like making that post any longer with otherwise useless info... Not everyone here is an EE major

[xellas84]

I have an anti-static wristband that my dad gave me after he developed an allergy to rubber and couldn't use it anymore. I use it every time I do anything with a computer and I've not had a part fry on me ever, they're pretty nift

Somewhat off topic, do you think a dwarf with a long enough beard would build up a charge from dragging it along the floor?

I think it's quite possible.  Hair is actually fairly decent at storing charges, so a large beard could work

[Xenos]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

Quite true. Like I said, we only hold a small number of actual electrons that have been pulled off the floor (or vice versa, I don't know which), so despite the huge voltage, there's not enough electrons moving for there to be much current. I just didn't feel like making that post any longer with otherwise useless info... Not everyone here is an EE major

Hahaha!  Neither am I   My dad is just a meterman so I have grown up learning electrical stuff...just be glad that its impossible for your computer to create an arc blast.

[xellas84]

Fortunately, that is an *EXTREMELY* low amperage   otherwise you would be dead from walking around in socks and touching doorknobs

Quite true. Like I said, we only hold a small number of actual electrons that have been pulled off the floor (or vice versa, I don't know which), so despite the huge voltage, there's not enough electrons moving for there to be much current. I just didn't feel like making that post any longer with otherwise useless info... Not everyone here is an EE major

Hahaha!  Neither am I   My dad is just a meterman so I have grown up learning electrical stuff...just be glad that its impossible for your computer to create an arc blast.

Your computer pulls a LOT of power if it's plugged in.  Most of the power supplies I've seen pull 110 volts, more than enough to insta-frag you if you grab it wrong.

[Xenos]

well, wall outlets put out enough amperage to fry you.  bad.  If you get in contact with 220 or 440 then, yeah...

[xellas84]

My understanding is that as little as 5 volts across the heart is enough to stop it.  So yeah.