Dude it won't effect the components but it will surely effect u!If u get a live 230 V shock u can also lose ur life....get the earthing in the house fixed.. OR is it in only ur cabinet???Then change the SMPS..
earthing is definately important from the users' point of view but it is equally important from the electronics pov.
Consider this... your case give a little electricity feeling(which i am sure most of us are very very familear with in india) means it is not earthed properly. Now if u are handeling the insides of the computer like (un)installing devices by hand then you component are at large risk becuase when ur hand or anything conductive for that matter touches the bare contacts of SMD components then the current can flow thru them. we al know how sensitive electronic stuff is. that is y it is recomended to disconnect electronic devices from the powers sockets. althought the 1st thing is human saftey but i guess humans are more tolerable to electronic shocks then on board chips and transistors.
Rollercoaster wrote
"humans are more tolerable to electronic shocks then on board chips and transistors"
very correct. Proper earthing is essential for proper functioning and durability of the computer and its components. To be sure, ensure that the voltage between the Earth and Neutral of the mains power is as minimum as possible. If necessary and possible, give separate earthing for the computer.
It entirely depends on uer luck .. it might not effect your sys for years and sudenly one fine day .. u c uer sys crash or some ;component roasted .. u can never say when will it cast it's ill shadow .. so it's always better to get the earthing done when runnin any tronics
Man these fricking chips are so sensitive that they got fried with your body current(static Charge)!!!
Thats why these all comes in anti-static bags(those dark colored polythene bags).
Well so far nothing happened to the computer. Only thing that was sensitive was me. I get shock everytime i touch my cabinet . So much for chip senstive.
oh yeah!!! Well dude abhi has already mentioned,its your luck.Sometimes hardware hardwares have long life without earthing or some ran out of luck sometimes.So the best part is to stay on the safer side.