Man Electrocuted by computer,

Oh this is sad, The poor fellow was trying to stop his computer over heating
and in doing so it looks like the sweat of his legs may have caused the computer to zapp him,

The beleive it may have short circted when his legs may have come in contact with it,

The computer's internal voltage is 380 volts, which is powerful enough to deliver a fatal shock.

An initial investigation by police officers and medical staff confirmed Mr Wu had been electrocuted.

news.sky.com...


I guess we can never be to carefull,

Imagine, being electrocuted by the thing you probably

love most. How ironic and sad.

There's a lesson to be learned here- dont do it yourselves!!!

Oh my... all because he didn't want to turn on the airconditioning in the home... very sad.

I received a phone call from my wife yesterday here at work, she said, if you happen to go home at lunch time, turn down the air, I turned it on this morning and don't remember what I set it at.

Well, I got home at 5pm and it was COLD in the house, and the temp outside was 95. I had to put on long pants and socks just to sit and watch tv.

To heck with the high bills, keep cool. but not cold.

I know this is a minor and too late point, but why did he not just shut down the computer for a while?

He could then take the side off and put a fan blowing air on the computer, it would cool it down and would reduce the running temp by 10 degree's C or more.

If we assume it was the processor that was overheating, it could have the heat sink removed-after it cools to the touch- and replace it with a better cooler or at least reapply thermal grease (artic silver 5 is the current standard).

I know this is too late to help that poor lad, but I am hoping this advice may help prevent it from happening again, especially to a member of ATS.

what a pity
being killed by a computer thats one way ive never even imagined being possible.
yes he really should have just turned his computer off but why where his legs sweating? was it that hot in his house to make him sweat?

I haven't heard of this happening with a computer before, but some older models of TV have killed people who tried to repair them on their own, either because they were still powered up or because some of the components kept a static charge for a long time. Very unfortunate.

I can't imagine what this guy could have touched. I've been working with computers for years, and the only way I could see something like this happening is if wires from his computer were stripped. I could be wrong, of course, but there's not much in easy reach that carries that much power.

He could have turned his computer off, and unless he was 'hotplugging' a hard disk i'm not sure it possible.

but if it is true, poor poor guy.

Computers run on 120v AC and transform it to 12v/5v DC. I don't see where they got the 380 volts.

120v AC is more than enough to kill you though.

It looks like the SMPS must've given the fatal blow..
Truely tragic!

They would have had to confuse the terminology.

It probably had a 380W (watt) power supply.

Turn you computer off occasionally people! or, but better fans/heat sinks, or you can even hook up liquid cooling systems ... point a fan at the computer, turn the air down ... get a bigger better processor ... so many things ... but PCs are not worth your life. Make sure to unplug and let it sit for 30 seconds or so before opening it up ... some have a temporary internal power back up.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
Turn you computer off occasionally people!

Won't matter. The computer heats up quickly, it doesn't really "accumulate." Either it's too hot or it's not. Time to go to max heat at max load is a matter of seconds, not hours.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
or, but better fans/heat sinks,

Yeah, pre-built PCs come with horrendous cooling. Heat makes parts break more quickly. I'm almost convinced that it's intentional. It's kind of hard, though, to install a heatsink if you don't know what you're doing. With the thermal paste and all... And if you do it wrong, you're screwed.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
or you can even hook up liquid cooling systems ...

Liquid cooling for the win. If you can afford it.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
point a fan at the computer, turn the air down ...

Only works if the side is open. If your cooling is good enough, you shouldn't have to do this. Unfortunately, with a PC that's not custom built (even then...), that's unlikely.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
get a bigger better processor

They can generate just as much or more heat. Depends more on the architecture and clock speeds.

Originally posted by FreeThinkerIdealist
some have a temporary internal power back up.

Not really, unless you're talking about the CMOS battery, which doesn't power anything. It's good to let the power discharge though, so it applies.

Seen people bandying around different voltages (including the sky article) claiming "such and such" would kill you.

It's not the voltage that kills. Voltage is merely the measurement of potential difference between two points.

The current, measured in amps, is what kills.

For example, off an electric motor (such as that in a vacuum cleaner) that has been in use, you can get a feedback effect called electro motive force. This can be measured in thousands of volts, but has very little current. I've been zapped by such a thing myself and just got a shock.

On the flip side, one could get a 12v shock with a couple of amps and this would fry your brains.

this sucks....like being stabed by your life....i love my pc so much...it entartains me since when i know my self....all the movies,games,music,net
i feel bored to death even a day without my pc.....imagine if it kills me
now that would make me cry