Moving with custom computer?

[rx590overclocker]

I am moving from Virginia to Florida.  My custom computer will be in the back of the moving truck for quite some time.  Any precautions? Any tips from people who have done this before?  Any parts I should remove?

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, rx590overclocker said:

I am moving from Virginia to Florida.  My custom computer will be in the back of the moving truck for quite some time.  Any precautions? Any tips from people who have done this before?  Any parts I should remove?

Take out the gpu and put some newspaper, bubble wrap,... in there to just hold the cpu cooler up.

[rx590overclocker]

@jaslion ok, sounds good

[Mateyyy]

I'd remove any hard drives, CPU cooler if it's a really heavy tower heatsink and the graphics card also if it's got a heavy cooler on it.

[jaslion]

Just now, Mateyyy said:

I'd remove any hard drives, CPU cooler if it's a really heavy tower heatsink and the graphics card also if it's got a heavy cooler on it.

Hard drives are safer mounted well inside a case than loose in a box. I do second you on removing a massive heatsink.

[Johnny-Boi]

maybe wrap it in some blankets as well, also welcome to florida gang, it's a crazy world down here 

[rx590overclocker]

@Johnny-Boi haha, ok will do

[Boomwebsearch]

6 minutes ago, rx590overclocker said:

I am moving from Virginia to Florida.  My custom computer will be in the back of the moving truck for quite some time.  Any precautions? Any tips from people who have done this before?  Any parts I should remove?

Use a box with packing materials for the system and remove CPU cooler if it is not an AIO liquid cooler mounted to the case, custom water cooling may be better to remove and transport safely before reinstalling, also remove any PCIe cards such as GPUs.

 

3 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

I'd remove any hard drives, CPU cooler if it's a really heavy tower heatsink and the graphics card also if it's got a heavy cooler on it.

This is only if your drive is loosely mounted, if it is screwed in properly into the case then you don't really need to remove it.

[rx590overclocker]

@Mateyyy @Boomwebsearch

my build has 2 ssds, so they are pretty light and rugged

[Mateyyy]

6 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Hard drives are safer mounted well inside a case than loose in a box. I do second you on removing a massive heatsink.

3 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

This is only if you drive is loosely mounted, if it is screwed in properly into the case then you don't really need to remove it.

I guess, it's just that vibrations will still make their way to the case and components inside, and I wouldn't really personally take any chances with hard drives and vibrations.

 

2 minutes ago, rx590overclocker said:

my build has 2 ssds, so they are pretty light and rugged

You're good then. SSDs have no moving parts so nothing should affect them during shipping (well, excluding extreme scenarios obviously)

[Roswell]

16 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Hard drives are safer mounted well inside a case than loose in a box. I do second you on removing a massive heatsink.

It's actually  the opposite. If they're screwed into the case, any bump the case takes will directly transfer to the mechanical drive. 

 

Imagine taking a 30 pound brick and taping the drive onto it. If you drop the brick 3 feet, brick side down, which drive would have the higher chance at survival? The drive with the brick or the drive by itself?

 

Physics!

[Boomwebsearch]

16 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

I guess, it's just that vibrations will still make their way to the case and components inside, and I wouldn't really personally take any chances with hard drives and vibrations.

1 minute ago, Vitamanic said:

It's actually  the opposite. If they're screwed into the case, any bump the case takes will directly transfer to the mechanical drive. 

 

Imagine taking a 30 pound brick and taping the drive onto it. If you drop the brick 3 feet, brick side down, which drive would have the higher chance at survival? The drive with the brick or the drive by itself?

 

Physics!

 

Your computer should not be thrown around while in a moving truck/vehicle, secure it to something else if needed or keep it in the front cabin, the situation would be a lot worse if the drive is loose since the drive cages are designed to absorb shocks/vibration and have less impact to the drive, although modern HDDs are pretty resistant to vibrations. Try to get a moving vehicle with air shock absorbers if possible, where else are you going to keep the drive if not in the case, throwing it loose in the moving vehicle is an even worse idea.

[divito]

Whenever I've moved, my electronics have always been in my car because it's far easier to control their movement and a car's suspension is far more forgiving. If you're riding in / driving the moving truck, if it's possible to have it in the front cab, that would be my second choice. 

If neither of those are options, and given the weight distribution/leverage on such things as a CPU heatsink and GPU, removing those would probably be the safest options. Bag them and wrap them and have them tucked nicely in a box. You can fill the actual PC case as an added precaution, but it should also be in a box (preferably its own if you still had it), and as close to the cab as possible.