best way to transport a gaming rig on a plane?

E

emailthatguy

Limp Gawd
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May 4, 2002
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taking a trip to vegas end of this month and planning on takin my rig w/ me.

whats the best way to transport this? i have a case carrier.

so carry on or check it?

havent really flown much since before all the homeland security stuff.

thanks

-me
 
If you are going to check it....make sure it is labeled as fragile or something. Also make sure it is well padded....if it were me i'd consider removing and tight-packing some of the more crucial components. Then again I have a case window so i'd want all those out - I would hate it if it was dropped on a protuding object causing the window to cave in and take out a vid card or sound card - doesn't take much to snap PCB at the connector point. Then I'd get super paranoid and find the box and just half dismantle the whole thing :D
 
You will probably want to take the CPU heatsink off, especially if it is your sig system as Athlon XPs do not have heat spreaders. Last thing you need is for the box to get dropped and find out hte weight of the heatsink ahs chipped/cracked your CPU core :eek:
 
My Dad does a lot of flying, and he says there is supposed to be a special compartment on most planes in the cabin where they store oversized luggage like a contra...or a computer. I wouldn't chance checking something like that in anyway, too much of a hassle if something goes fubar. You'll probably have to ask about carrying something like that on though, terrorism and airlines-not-doing-so-well puts quite a few more restrictions on baggage and stuff.

But I'd take the thing apart as well. Or at least the cards and heatsink.

 
If your bent on taking it (i assume a long trip) I would go to a local music store and find one of those anvil roadcases for recording equipment and snag one up. about 150$ish small price compared to the jackass luggage handlers backing over it with a tug or rolling it out of a can.
 
a anvil case would be a good way to go... though they are quite price... any FAA flight certified case will work... depending on the size of your case you might be able to carry it on in a standard piece of luggage....
 
do you know anyone where you're going? If so, I suppose you could always ship it. I know lots of people that ship their luggage instead of check it. Gives them more of a piece of mind and less hassle at the airport.
 
haha my gf's brother put his in with his clothes/suitcase, padded it all with clothes, went from winnipeg to newyork and back just fine :p

soulsaver
 
Personally I would completely dismantle the computer, put everything in anti-static bags, wrap it all in bubble wrap and ship it to your destination. At least then you have insurance for any damage that could be done. No way in hell would I trust a computer in the hands of luggage handlers. I've seen them toss things around, drop them, OPEN THEM....its not good. Just ship it and save yourself the headache.
 
i think our view of what abuse our stuff will take is a little off.... how do you think the parts that are in our computers get to us... how do you think people get macs, dells, etc.... if you pack it correctly with padding etc its not going to destroy your rig... if you take the right measure it will make the trip....
 
Footer4321 said:
i think our view of what abuse our stuff will take is a little off.... how do you think the parts that are in our computers get to us... how do you think people get macs, dells, etc.... if you pack it correctly with padding etc its not going to destroy your rig... if you take the right measure it will make the trip....
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Baggage handlers have a reputation of going through "interesting" looking luggage. Hell, I think 60 minutes even did a spot on it a couple years back.

I'd trust UPS, Fed-EX, DHL, or USPS over an airline baggage handler ANY DAY!
 
Im sorry, but you're going to *Vegas*... Sin City... and you're taking a desktop? Please tell me that you're there for a month and under 18.
 
here is what to do to avoid theft and hopefully damage issues: rent a coffin. pack the computer in said coffin. im sure most plane packer dudes will not want to open coffin nor will they want contents of coffin falling out during transport. this means they should be gentle with it.
 
rhexis said:
here is what to do to avoid theft and hopefully damage issues: rent a coffin. pack the computer in said coffin. im sure most plane packer dudes will not want to open coffin nor will they want contents of coffin falling out during transport. this means they should be gentle with it.
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lol...hell with packing it in there...make it an all out case mod...with a window that has a human skull behind it surrounded by an eerie green glow. :D and make the brain cavity a resevoir for the uber elite water cooling system :p

Don't forget the standard Bio-Hazard and Radioactive stickers that should be on the outside too ;)
 
Rune75 said:
Im sorry, but you're going to *Vegas*... Sin City... and you're taking a desktop? Please tell me that you're there for a month and under 18.
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im there for a week, dont drink, dont gamble and meeting up w/ a friend thats never played an fps.

you see, im on an educational trip. =p
 
How I move mine around the world... I use lots of bubble wrap, lots of packing penauts, and I fedex it to where Im going
 
No matter how you get it there, a suggestion: Hot glue on the screws in the AGP/PCI slots and a dab where the card touches the connector. Perhaps on the IDE/SATA cables also... Last thing you want is to have stuff flyin around inside your case in transit.
 
autobot said:
Personally I would completely dismantle the computer, put everything in anti-static bags, wrap it all in bubble wrap and ship it to your destination. At least then you have insurance for any damage that could be done. No way in hell would I trust a computer in the hands of luggage handlers. I've seen them toss things around, drop them, OPEN THEM....its not good. Just ship it and save yourself the headache.
Click to expand...

qft

my friend took his comp on a plane, checked it but filled the insides with bubble wrap real tight, vid card still broke
 
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