Shipping desktop to UK

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Tofifi

Tofifi

Honorable
May 3, 2013
6
0
10,510
Hello,
I'm gonna ship my computer to UK next week, but I'm a bit worried because I don't know how well the couriers handle packages. It's a small PC so the package should weigth about 8kg (hopefully they won't drop it :D). I've packed the whole thing on the inside: http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6984/v8lz.jpg but haven't disasembled anything, because they don't let me take parts on the plane as hand luggage.
There will be more bubble wrap and foam outside. I was wondering if anyone that had experience with moving a computer can give me some advice.
Thanks
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
synthaside

synthaside

Distinguished
May 2, 2011
184
0
18,760
Personally, i'd have disassembled the case and paid the surcharge for a luggage /suitcase , wrapped each component individually stowed them in m case and then bought a new case here in the uk . There are plenty of shops if you cant wait / ship to your location

I would not trust heathrow landing staff with a lump of stone let alone my assembled tower , especially as there bonus is based on how quick they unload your stuff.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

mc962

Honorable
Jul 18, 2013
1,028
1
11,660
When I moved it to college (although that was in a car) I had it surrounded by pillows on all sides, still works fine. Do you still have the box your case came in? The styrofoam it hopefully had would hopefully be useful. After that, pad it with as much stuff as you can manage I guess. If it's possible ( I don't know much about shipping stuff) then maybe mark which side you want up (the side that allows the board to be flat so that the cooler isnt trying to wrench the motherboard apart on every bump) and tell them to keep it like that. I don't think it's so much of a problem for coolers like the intel stock cooler and a few others with similar shapes, but with coolers like the 212 evo with that massive chunky cooling block it might be recommended. Or if you're that worried maybe even take the cooler off and ship it separately. I also might be a bit nervous shipping with plastic bags on top of your components, would that not cause some static if it's not an antistatic bag; or even worse, snap something off if it's constantly banging away at it? Tie off your cables maybe but I don't think putting packing material inside the case is a great idea.

Although maybe wait for advice from someone who's shipped across countries before, I'm just giving my own opinions.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Shneiky

Shneiky

Distinguished
Aug 21, 2011
2,323
1
20,960
I have moved my huge chunk (Cooler Master HAF 912+ ) in a suitcase with a bus over 2500km and with a plane. 3 things I explicitly recommend:
- Remove CPU heatsink and cooler if they are any heavier than the Intel stock cooler.
- Remove all add-on cards such as video/audio cards, PCIe SDDs and etc.
- Unplug all cables from all components. Secure the cables to the case and make sure they don't touch anything
Reasons why:
- While moving on land ( with a car or a bus ) the whole car vibrates and those vibrations are transferred to the computer case and the components. The constant little vibrations causes strain on the components and may lead to micro-fractures and later to failure of components. This strain mostly affects the occupied slots for add-in cards and the heatsink. If the heatsink or the vibrations are big enough, it could bent the motherboard and/or damage the underlying circuitry.
- If the cargo is moved by a plane, the landing could snap off components of the motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

ram1009

Distinguished
Jun 28, 2007
3,421
0
21,160
I would certainly do some disassembly. How much depends upon the cost to replace certain items. I would definitely remove the HDD/SSD & CPU. There must be some way to get them into your carry ons. Optical drives are cheap so not much risk there. PSU is pretty rugged. I would remove the GPU if it cons more than $100. The monitor should be OK if packed well. The rest is easily & cheaply replaced if damaged.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Tofifi

Tofifi

Honorable
May 3, 2013
6
0
10,510
Thanks for the answers. The heatsync is the intel stock one so maybe no need to remove it. I could remove the GPU and HDD but I'll have to keep them inside the case and ship with it. Somehow secure them from not bouncing around in the case. I've specifically asked the flight company and they said i can't bring them as hand luggage and they are certainly better off in the hands of the shipping company then the airport staff.
I still have the original boxes of everything.
The shipping is not via airplane.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

mc962

Honorable
Jul 18, 2013
1,028
1
11,660
If you really want to go through the effort of shipping the computer, then why not ship the individual parts separately? (by that i mean gpu, hdd, cooler if you really feel like it). They got to you like that in the first place so as long as you pack them correctly they should be fine. It would be better than snapping a pci slot on your board or knocking off a capacitor or something because the travel shock slammed something into something else. Sure it might cost more, but it's better than having to replace that $300 graphics card, or rebuilding your computer because of a broken board. Even with a board like the asus sabertooth with the thermal armor covering all the main important bits I still wouldnt recommend it, because I could see some foam wrapped part taking an exceptionally hard jolt and knocking out a fan or usb header pin (i suppose those pins might be a bit more solid than that, but I wouldnt want to risk it). Maybe a little paranoid, but that's preferable to damage.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom