Building the most portable PC

[Themoniter61]

So on August first im spending a semester abroad in Israel, i want to take my desktop PC w/me so that i still play games with my friends back home. Only problem is shipping. Right now i figure i have 3 options:

Ship it UPS: Really expensive but really easy
Take it apart and rebuild it: Kinda Simple, but really big hassle
Re-Case it in a much more portable case.

The PC is currently housed in an NZXT Apollo with a 600Watt PSU
AMD x2 4200
Nvidia 7900gt with an aftermarket fan
2HD's
Gigabyte S5 Mobo
1g of DDR2 Ram

Unless there is some special way to Ship PC's that cheap and easy that im not aware of i figure that re casing the PC is my best option. So now i have three questions:
1) What is the best and smallest case for my parts (keeping in mind that it will need to go in a suitcase of some sort.
2) What is the best Mobo for my parts
3) Do i need a new PSU? and will cooling be an issue?

 

[logical2u]

You could get a Home Theater PC, or one of the "Desktop" PC cases (The flat ones you see in some work stations years ago). Those are practically luggage sized.

Or you could just put it into a very wide piece of luggage, and put clothing around it as shock absorbed.

The only downside could be your aftermarket cooler, or your mobo. I don't think it's M-ATX, so you might have to get a relatively big case.

What Mobo is it? S5 is an entire series of motherboards, not just one...

In order to fit everything inside a smaller case, you will have to know everything's exact dimensions and the dimensions of the cases. If you read HTPC and MATX case reviews, almost all of the angry ones are those of people whose stuff didn't fit inside them.

 

[tomwaddle]

You are asking for trouble if you expect your PC to make it in a suitcase wrapped in clothes. Remember, those bags get tossed around. IF you are hellbent in shipping it to Israel, your best bet is to break it down and wrap your parts back up (especially if you still have their original packaging).
If you break all your internal parts down, you could probably ship all that in one box and your case in another.

 

[JonnyDough]

It's ISRAEL, and you're going for one semester. Don't be a freaking IDIOT. Leave the damn PC at home and put the games away for 3 months. What are you, a spoiled 11 year old? I can't believe you even posted such a retarded question.

 

[cc3d]

It's ISRAEL, and you're going for one semester. Don't be a freaking IDIOT. Leave the damn PC at home and put the games away for 3 months. What are you, a spoiled 11 year old? I can't believe you even posted such a retarded question.

Wow! Somebody's ill huh?

If you need a PC for scholl and such, then take it. If it's just for gaming, I'd hope you'd spend your time abroad taking in the experience.

I've been to Israel quite a few times on business.

I'd just ship it.

The deal with putting it in your suitcase is that you may have to unpack and repack your suitcase when you leave. Usually you can pre-check your bags the night before you fly out and take some time there.

I've put equipment and gifts in suitcases and found cases where things were broken due to handling, I would expect the same any time you fly.

 

[tonyp12]

How about this.

You take all the parts out and leave the case and PSU at home.

You travel with all parts wrapped around clothes etc.

Have a new case with psu waiting for you in Israel.
I sure they have "newegg" there too.

When you go home, take the parts out and donate the case.

 

[tomwaddle]

How about this.
You travel with all parts wrapped around clothes etc.

I can't stress this enough. Wrapping your parts, especially the CPU in something like clothes or bubble wrap is basically putting it to the curb. Your suitcase is not treated like a fragile item. It more than likely will be treated like a garbage can.

 

[tonyp12]

"especially the CPU "

leave the CPU in the MOBO socket, leave the ram there too.

Just remove heat sink and PCI(e) cards.

Put the mobo back in the box it came in when you bought it.
Put some padding inside, put it in the middle of suitcase.

It will hold up just fine.

 

[Themoniter61]

The problem is that it IS my only computer, of course i would rather take a laptop if i could but that is not an option, i don't have the money right now (the semester isn't paying for itself), so, i still have two months to work on options, i think what i may end up doing is taking it apart and putting it back together.

 

[rick0307]

there are cpu cases out there you have to do a bit of research such as the one that I have for traveling it is virtually a entire PC in one unit that opens up 17" tft monitor keyboard its everything that a desktop PC has but closes up like a suitcase and very tough I got mine through Sterling computers its a Zeus M2 model they do cost a bit I am a IT tech and I use it in the field, but do some research there are very cheap all in ones out there a laptop don't have what I need but my PC does so I have a all in one

 

[jaguarskx]

So newbie, your first post on Tomshardware.com is used to resurrect a post from almost 4 years ago?