I'm going to be a college student soon and my college is like 13hr drive from where I live so I'm going to be flying to and from school. When I'm going home for longer vacations, like christmas and summer vacation, I'd like to be able to bring my desktop home. I'm contemplating getting a hard suitcase and lining it with foam so that I can just bring my tower and 2001fp home with me. I don't really know what to look for in my search for the ultimate computer suitcase except it has to be a hard suitcase that I can throw in the back of my closet till I need to use it again. If anyone has recomendations on other ways to get it home, besides shipping since that will cost too much in the long run with insurance and everything. I also want to stay away from a shuttle since there is very little upgradability as far as sound cards, tv tuners, and other nifty things go. So please help me
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Taking a desktop on a plane
- Thread starter madcow235
- Start date
I took a full desktop with me when I visited my parents a couple years back. (I was deploying to Afghanistan following that trip, so I decided to give that computer to my younger brother.) I had a hardtop suitcase, so I place a towel along the bottom of the suitcase, place the computer case in the middle, and surrounded it with clothes. I took the video card, sound card, and RAM out of the case, wrapped them up as if I was shipping them in a box, and placed them in between some clothing inside the suitcase. I also put a lot of those grocery store plastic bags inside the computer case, particularly in any gaps that I saw in there. I put a towel on the exposed side of the case when I was done.
My biggest problem with taking the computer in my suitcase was with the TSA guys. I made sure that one side of the case was unscrewed beforehand and when my bags were being searched, I opened up the case, showed them the parts that I had wrapped up and separated, and told them that I was shipping a computer case. But those bright guys didn't listen to me. After I got to my parents' house I found out that they stripped the PSU and my fans from the case during their detailed search. I had to replace the fans and get bigger screws for the PSU but the computer surprisingly worked fine otherwise.
You don't need a specialized suitcase to send stuff back. You simply need to pack it into the suitcase almost the same way as if you were going to ship it home. But you need to make sure that the TSA guys know that you have a computer or else they'll practice their superb bomb-defusing skills on it. Also, any checked suitcase that weighs over 50lbs will be charged extra -- $25 for up to 75lbs and $50 for up to 100lbs, anything heavier means you're SOL. Since you want to bring your monitor with you, you may want to take it off the stand (if you can) and pack that in a separate suitcase. Also, take everything (save for your processor and motherboard) out of the case and fill the case with something that will minimize movement without shorting your system.
But if I were you, I'd buy a laptop. You can get one that has some good (if not great) gaming performance for around $1500. Besides, at least you could use that while you're on the plane....
My biggest problem with taking the computer in my suitcase was with the TSA guys. I made sure that one side of the case was unscrewed beforehand and when my bags were being searched, I opened up the case, showed them the parts that I had wrapped up and separated, and told them that I was shipping a computer case. But those bright guys didn't listen to me. After I got to my parents' house I found out that they stripped the PSU and my fans from the case during their detailed search. I had to replace the fans and get bigger screws for the PSU but the computer surprisingly worked fine otherwise.
You don't need a specialized suitcase to send stuff back. You simply need to pack it into the suitcase almost the same way as if you were going to ship it home. But you need to make sure that the TSA guys know that you have a computer or else they'll practice their superb bomb-defusing skills on it. Also, any checked suitcase that weighs over 50lbs will be charged extra -- $25 for up to 75lbs and $50 for up to 100lbs, anything heavier means you're SOL. Since you want to bring your monitor with you, you may want to take it off the stand (if you can) and pack that in a separate suitcase. Also, take everything (save for your processor and motherboard) out of the case and fill the case with something that will minimize movement without shorting your system.
But if I were you, I'd buy a laptop. You can get one that has some good (if not great) gaming performance for around $1500. Besides, at least you could use that while you're on the plane....
Yeppers laptops are fairly nice. I gamed on my NEC back in the day but I didn't game anymore once it got outdated until I got my Emachine m6810 which runs HL2 like crazy with it's radeon 9600. After that I hap to build me a desktop....it's not as good as my 6800 but hell it's great and can play anything. BTW the grpahics on it will OC like another 200mhz.... LMAO
The memory will go 300mhz more but you get artifacts about 30min of gaming....
OCs around 80hz mroe seem stable but you dont need to OC it.
The memory will go 300mhz more but you get artifacts about 30min of gaming....
OCs around 80hz mroe seem stable but you dont need to OC it.
I would love to get a laptop but I really dont have the funds to get a I9300 or anything that good so I can play games. I can definitely get the system under 50lbs since right now my lian li weighs maybe 25lbs fully loaded, and thats going on the very heavy side. I built this computer without the forsight to think about getting it to college so its a problem im going to have to deal with.
I also didn't think about them checking my bags for bombs so I guess if I can get a good deal on shipping it i might try that since I don't want my computer desecrated by them.
I also didn't think about them checking my bags for bombs so I guess if I can get a good deal on shipping it i might try that since I don't want my computer desecrated by them.
D
Deleted member 108676
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My friend tried to take a computer through, and for some reason they ran it through the xray machine...saw the wires from the powersupply ...needless to say there was a bomb squad there. Was actually pretty funny.
...needless to say there was a bomb squad there. Was actually pretty funny. 
TeeJayHoward
Limpness Supreme
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madcow235 said:Ugh I really dont want my computer to be diffused
I shipped a machine via fedex halfway across the US for like $30. (No monitor)