Air Travel with my Tower

[stewysb119]

I have an interesting dilemma that I need help with.

I have a flight from California to the Kansas City on Thursday and I have to take my computer with me.

It's a Centurion 5 case with an 8800GTS and a Zalman 9700 CPU cooler (The only 2 things that stick up way off the motherboard). I can carry it on and let them Valet check it if it doesn't fit in the overhead, or I can check it at the gate.

I have 2 questions.

1) How do I pack it so that Donnie the Retard bag handler doesn't destroy it when I check it? I do have a suitcase big enough to hold it.

2) Am I going to get a ton of crap from the security people if I try to take it on the plane with me?

I have heard that all I need to do is bubble wrap it to death and surround it with clothes in my suitcase. Some have said that I need to stuff the case with newspaper to keep the components from moving around. I'm confused.

Any help would be great.

 

[hawkspur]

I'd just wrap it in bubble wrap and make sure its secure from being tossed about and check it. With airport security like it is, it would be a pain in a half trying to get on the plane with it as a carryon.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Have you ever heard of a Laptop? You could even rent one at a rent a center or buy one at Walmart and return it when you are done.

Another more sensible alternative would be to use https://www.gotomypc.com/tr/affil/2007_Q1/10poff_text/g25af_couponlp?target=mm/g25af_couponlp.tmpl&PromoCode=g2affil10p&AID=10300414&PID=1535394&SID=yahoo_pcanywhere&ysmwa=edjxH9AJUZezGkYgY4jCHLfC_tjzR7I1dDNeVXl1pnkpYvQGeYLHUYjQkdPP1knP free for 30 days.

 

[TeraMedia]

If you do decide to check it, you might consider taking out the HDDs and putting them (well protected in bubblewrap) in your carryon. 2 reasons: 1) protect any sensitive data you might have on them from theft, and 2) protect the HDDs from jostling, humidity, and temperature variations that can cause them to fail. I shipped a computer cross-country on a truck in the middle of winter, and it got to the destination just fine with the only problem being a disconnected non-critical cooling fan. But the HDDs, with their sensitive data and sensitive mechanics, traveled with me.

 

[skittle]

I did the same thing (with the same case 7800gt and scythe ninja). Disassembled my computer (everything)... and wrapped parts in anti static bags, bubble wrapped and stuck them in the case then filled case with package peanuts.

I wouldnt advise using a suit case though, your case will likely get dented. You can send regular old boxes on planes. Ive sent my computer twice this way, comes out perfect when connecting through denver, and salt lake. The only reason airport security makes a big deal about laptops on planes... is because they want to make sure that its really a laptop that your carrying on.

airlines are kind of nazis about weight though... isnt the limit up to 40lbs these days?

 

[Dunkel]

Whatever you do you should not leave the CPU fan and heatsink attached. One bad move and that thing might rip your cpu off or damage the MB.

 

[CompuTronix]

stewysb119, just as TeraMedia suggested, I strongly recommend that you HAND CARRY your hard drives! Your PC should be OK, but definately perform a backup, then remove your drives.

Comp

 

[jeremyrailton]

i had the same thought about the cpu heatsink, might wanna take that off and pack it separately, packing hard drives separately is not a bad idea either. everything else should be fine. keep those hard drives packed with your clothes for padding, the heatsink can go anywhere. good luck with that.

 

[skittle]

Also worth mentioning, the xrays wont harm your HDDs

 

[roadrunner197069]

Again I must say https://www.gotomypc.com/tr/affil/2007_Q1/10poff_text/g25af_couponlp?target=mm/g25af_couponlp.tmpl&PromoCode=g2affil10p&AID=10300414&PID=1535394&SID=yahoo_pcanywhere&ysmwa=edjxH9AJUZezGkYgY4jCHLfC_tjzR7I1dDNeVXl1pnkpYvQGeYLHUYjQkdPP1knP simple easy fast secure. If you tear your computer apart there is a chance it wont boot right for what ever reason.

 

[aevm]

i had the same thought about the cpu heatsink, might wanna take that off and pack it separately, packing hard drives separately is not a bad idea either. everything else should be fine. keep those hard drives packed with your clothes for padding, the heatsink can go anywhere. good luck with that.

Yeah, definitely take off the heatsink. For example companies like NCIX assemble custom PCs and mail them but they leave the heatsinks off, intentionally.

If you leave the hard disks in there make sure you encrypt the sensitive files, at least.

 

[Moondrinker]

I would recommend that you screw off the CPU cooler. I've had some trouble with that while driving (getting lose making damage on the motherboard and other computer components).

Good luck