I've got one now anyways...better to be safe than sorry, might get nekkid as well but that will just be for fun

Can remember not that long ago, I rang a local "pc specialist" asking if they had anti-static wrist bands in stock. They laughed at me, stating that nobody uses them anymore as modern equipment isn't affected.

The component you installed may appear to be fine, but days, weeks, or months later your PC may lock up or start acting strangely. A dead board or RAM module is easy to diagnose if it doesn't work immediately after you install it, but low-voltage static charges can also cause latent damage, destroying a few gates out of the millions in a typical integrated circuit. That damage can be almost impossible to diagnose, and may not cause problems for a long time. It's also quite possible that you might never take precautions to avoid static and yet never lose a component to static damage.

To give you an idea of how little static electricity needs to be generated to cause harm to your computer components, it takes as little as 5 to 10 volts to cause damage inside your computer. In order for you to even feel the presence of static electricity, the level needs to be above 1,500 volts. You can accumulate an average of 10,000 to 12,000 volts just walking across carpeting. Rubbing a balloon on dry fur (or hair) generates about 20,000 volts. Did you know the average person can carry up to 25,000 volts of static energy at any given time? So discharging any built up energy before you begin is important.