What is ESD or Electrostatic Discharge?

Short for Electrostatic Discharge, ESD is one of the few things an individual can do to damage or destroy his or her computer or hardware components. Much like the shock you receive when rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching something metal, ESD can occur when working in your computer and can cause components you touch to no longer work properly. ESD can occur without the user feeling a shock and only occurs while working on the inside of the computer or handling an expansion card.