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PC's on a plane
Pat McRotch
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Howdy folks, this section of the forum seems to have a funky "left for dead" smell.O_o
Any who, this is where this thread belongs so I will get started.
I was in on the BYOC last year and plan to be next year. (I won the creepiest comment in-game award if anyone remembers
) I had a mid-tower comp and a CRT :x screen. Thankfully, I drove (from Rockford, Il) and did not have to deal with any airport security. The time has come to upgrade to a completely new box and a new LCD screen.
I am at the stage of buying the case and am having some trouble deciding. I have some ideas but I am just realizing that I may fly in this year. I was wanting to know if anyone here flew with their towers before. I have read about some others experience through searching but none of them seem to be very recent. Think anyone can give me some advice?:?:
I have already decided not to go water cooling. So there I won't have to worry about being asked "Sir, is this a chemical bomb?" And as far as I can find out I should not have any repercussions by having the computer x-rayed. As for packing, I figured that I would save the box the computer case comes in and pack the thing back in there when I am redy to travel.
Here are some cases I am considering. I am trying to stear clear of the crazy-ass "fast and the furious" cases that seem to be so popular.
This big bastard, Antec P180. I have seen this thing in person and it is huge but I love it.
The Antec 900. This one seems nice. It also seems to have this "el cheapo" vibe to it for some reason.
Just found this one. Lian Li PC-A10. I rather like this one but it is a little pricey.
Any who, this is where this thread belongs so I will get started.
I was in on the BYOC last year and plan to be next year. (I won the creepiest comment in-game award if anyone remembers
) I had a mid-tower comp and a CRT :x screen. Thankfully, I drove (from Rockford, Il) and did not have to deal with any airport security. The time has come to upgrade to a completely new box and a new LCD screen.I am at the stage of buying the case and am having some trouble deciding. I have some ideas but I am just realizing that I may fly in this year. I was wanting to know if anyone here flew with their towers before. I have read about some others experience through searching but none of them seem to be very recent. Think anyone can give me some advice?:?:
I have already decided not to go water cooling. So there I won't have to worry about being asked "Sir, is this a chemical bomb?" And as far as I can find out I should not have any repercussions by having the computer x-rayed. As for packing, I figured that I would save the box the computer case comes in and pack the thing back in there when I am redy to travel.
Here are some cases I am considering. I am trying to stear clear of the crazy-ass "fast and the furious" cases that seem to be so popular.
This big bastard, Antec P180. I have seen this thing in person and it is huge but I love it.
The Antec 900. This one seems nice. It also seems to have this "el cheapo" vibe to it for some reason.
Just found this one. Lian Li PC-A10. I rather like this one but it is a little pricey.
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Also, flying with a tower is a pain in the ass, you should just drive again, and do it right this time.
I FedEx'ed the computer itself there and back (aside from the hard drives, they went with me in carry on). It's rather expensive, but allows you to surround it with packing material a foot deep on all sides. The only way it'd survive a flight is for you to picture a travel case/crate, picture your computer in it, now picture your computer in said case being thrown 20' feet to a ground made of concrete. A similar situation will happen every time a person touches your case.
First time: Dented case, dislodged memory and video card, thoughts of revenge on baggage handlers when PC wouldn't boot (thankfully it wasn't broken).
Second time: Wised up and put (new) case inside the original box. Slight denting. Heatsink managed to pull the processor out of the socket and came dangerously close to freeing itself from the screw holes and completely destroying my computer. Styrofoam barely managed to survive.
Third time: New case with a much better box. Hard drives and heatsink came with me in my carry-on. Survived just fine (still ticking), but I was worried about the power supply dislodging itself. TSA felt the need to make sure the TIM on the heatsink wasn't bomb residue (would have been really pissed if Arctic Silver resembled bomb-making materials).
It's possible, but you will spend way too much time worrying.
If you do it, get a pelican case. GET A PELICAN CASE. I would cautiously trust my very-well-packed, very-well-backed-up, and very insured computer on a plane, but only in a perfectly packed pelican.
Call the hotel you are staying at and say you have a reservation for a coming convention (or trip, or whatever) and ask if they can recieve and hold a package for you (most of them will for free of charge as long as its only for a few days).
Then just pack your case and monitor back in its orginal box and send it to yourself at the hotel.
Fedex/UPS/DHL are *FARFARFARFAR* more forgiving on something like that than the baggage handlers are at an airport.
Ive done the above a few times and it works great
Honestly Moe, I wanted to. But the car we drove in was not mine and therefore not my decision. He wanted to do it in a strait shot. So, that's what we did. Ended up getting there quite a bit earlier that you did. I think we actually passed you guys.
As for flying with the PC, I think that if I use the one I am going to build now I will ship it before hand. Or, I am seriously considering building a Shuttle later down the road. I cannot now because I have half of my parts already.:|
Thanks everyone! You confirmed what I was fearing about the baggage handlers. Did you guys have any thoughts on the cases?
What time did you guys leave/arrive, and what route did you take?
Or in other words, the CCST route. And driving there like I do on the way back.
You passed the CCST? Jebus, how fast were you going?
I really doubt you will have any problems...bastard
Oh I had problems last year. The train I took wouldn't allow carryons to be added so the computer was a No-go. Especially since I built it SPECIFICALLY for pax and lan gaming
Viscount was sad viscount when that happened.
Hum was thinking about taking the train from Reno this year (wee doubling the travel time from 12 to 14 hours to well over 25 hours) So that I could play some 360 instead of driving. But if I can’t take my computer monitor and 360 on the train with me then that’s a no go.
I would also like to agree with others that the only way to take a computer on a plane is to either make sure the case is small enough to be carried on inside carry on luggage bag (oh the pains if you plan on trying to carry it in your arms) or put it in a Pelican case as putting it in a cardboard or soft case would equal destruction for your computer. One other thing to note when planning to check a computer on a plane is to remove your CPU heatsink. Even when firmly attached, it can still shock crush your CPU chip. The best thing to do is to remove any cards, memory and CPU heatsinks, place them in static shield plastic bags and pack them elsewhere. This will prevent them from coming loose in transit and bashing around inside the case. Also do not travel or ship a liquid cooled system charged as the change in air pressure will probably cause it to leak. And no clue as to TSA’s reaction to open your Pelican case and seeing green liquid snake around inside a box with circuit boards and wires. The last tip I can suggest is to make sure that the means to open your case is clearly marked on the outside of the case. Even if you set your 3 number combo to 0 0 0 and leave it set as such when you drop it off to be scanned the dials can still be adjusted by handling and if TSA cannot open it easily they will pry it open with what ever means they have at their disposal or destroy it.
Oh there was an issue with trains that year. The superliners had stress cracks in their frame and were pulled off of use and inspected/repaired.
I should be able to bring my computer with me this year.
Really, the most worrying part of taking the train is smoking. They treat smokers like nazi's or something.
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in WA they are treated like that as well :P
I think "like Nazi's" is a bit harsh. Most states around the country are adopting No Smoking rules in public places like transportation, offices, and restaurants. The message is: kill yourself if you want, but don't take other people with you. ;-)
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[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do
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Yeah, but when you're one of the guys trying to get a group of people together to smoke hookahs at a hookah bar, and you suddenly can't even do so because local anti smoking laws shut the place down, it's a bit over-stepping bounds.
I mean it's like going to a park and then a bylaw is passed that says no throwing of balls because there's a chance you'll get beaned in the head.
They are!!! They're air nazis.
And as for my 2 cents, I agree with most of what is said here. I would say no matter how you travel, just keep your stuff with you if at all possible.
Defiantly!
You know, none of this would be a problem if I had some uber-beefy gaming notebook. But dayum, I have other things to spend that kind of money on.
There's a Hookah Bar that opened right here in Bellingham, WA. Research it and find out how they got around the state's smoking laws.
The smoking ban isn't about you as a smoker, it's about the people who don't smoke who are forced to breathe second hand smoke and deal with the potential health and financial consquences thereof. I don't necessairily agree with it (okay, I don't at all), but see where both sides are coming from.
[15:02] Tajah: I like you BR but I'm not letting you nom my box
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do
PAX Twitter Shitter~*~ Retired Bar Liaison: 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament~*~
You have an excellent point! I think I am gonna go the quicker route and try the Black Market. Do you know if they accept bits of string?
I saw a neat new shuttle case. It seems they are fucking finally shipping them with 400/450 watt psu's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101045
I want one with an 8800gt. I think that would be so freaking sweet.
Just fyi. Looks like there is a USB driver issue on this case.
Anyways, yes, desktop/tower PCs and planes don't seem to mix well. I'll add my chip to the pile of people who have had PCs pretty much destroyed by plane rides.
When I got mine back from a cross-country flight (I was moving, and had reduced everything I owned to what I could fit into two suitcases and a box that had my PC, other stuff, and some padding), I found that the box was heavily damaged, and the case was dented to hell. Many things inside had become partially or completely unseated, and in turn destroyed the motherboard and most of the other components in the case.
I wonder if they make some kind of computer-safe "internal padding" that you could fill the inside of the case with to prevent loosened components from flying around and damaging themselves and other components? But I digress...
Anyways, bring your PC on the plane at your own risk. Ooh, if it was one of those little Shuttle or micro PCs I bet you could bring it as a carry-on in a small bag. That might help.