Packing a desktop PC for shipping

Forums › Desktop computing › Packing a desktop PC for shipping

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 272

Topic # 128559 14-Aug-2013 20:46

Has anyone packed up a PC for shipping overseas? If so, could you share any tips please?
Also, when I got my latest PC it had packaging material inside the case to protect it. It was like a soft foam inside this packing material - anyone know what I mean and have ideas of where to source it? cheers.

D1023319

393 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 49

Subscriber

Reply # 878699 15-Aug-2013 12:21

hi

Firstly I presume its financially worthwhile to ship a PC overseas??

But if it is, I'd suggest talk to local PC reseller to aquire some suitable packaging material / advise.

cheers

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 272

Reply # 878954 15-Aug-2013 16:53

D1023319: hi

Firstly I presume its financially worthwhile to ship a PC overseas??

But if it is, I'd suggest talk to local PC reseller to aquire some suitable packaging material / advise.

Yes, it's worthwhile for my rig. Unfortunately, resellers aren't much help. I'd tried that avenue before posing here.

raytaylor

3278 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 661

Trusted

Reply # 879011 15-Aug-2013 18:04

Kennards sell boxes
And
Warehouse stationary sells the foam stuff - and bubble wrap. Oh hell they even sell boxes too i believe.

Or you can just go to your local computer shop and ask if they have a case box and some foam - they probably do from a case they ordered that morning for a build.
Edit the foam with a craft knife

Ray Taylor
Taylor Broadband (rural hawkes bay)
www.ruralkiwi.com

There is no place like localhost
For my general guide to extending your wireless network Click Here

michaelmurfy

Mr Snotty
8182 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4169

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 879014 15-Aug-2013 18:10

If it's going overseas with you take the hard drive and the CPU cooling block out, bring the Hard Drive(s) with you. I've seen CPU cooling blocks fall off during shipping and kill everything inside the case >.<

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
A quick guide to picking the right ISP | The Router Guide | Community UniFi Cloud Controller | Ubiquiti Edgerouter Tutorial

dimsim

543 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 43

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 879039 15-Aug-2013 18:38

Elpie: Has anyone packed up a PC for shipping overseas? If so, could you share any tips please?
Also, when I got my latest PC it had packaging material inside the case to protect it. It was like a soft foam inside this packing material - anyone know what I mean and have ideas of where to source it? cheers.

PackNSend I believe have the spray foam type packing, If you were to take your machine down they will securely pack it for you. If you're not near them I have a spare HP Z220 Workstation box which is nice and solid complete with foam you can have for the freight to send to you. PM me if interested.

sidefx

3236 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 930

Trusted

Reply # 879041 15-Aug-2013 18:40

I shipped a rig back from the UK a number of years ago. Didn't do anything special other than put it back in the box it came in (which I think had some foam around the actual case)

In hindsight though it was a miracle it all arrived with no damage as it had a huge 3rd party cooler on the CPU and another on the GPU...

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 272

Reply # 879064 15-Aug-2013 19:14

michaelmurfy: If it's going overseas with you take the hard drive and the CPU cooling block out, bring the Hard Drive(s) with you. I've seen CPU cooling blocks fall off during shipping and kill everything inside the case >.<

Ouch! thanks for the tip. I doubt I'll take the hard drives out though (there's two HD's and two SSD's in this baby) but I've got a CPU watercooler and big A* GPU fan on board and I can see how easily they would trash everything if they came loose. Thanks for the heads up.

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 272

Reply # 879067 15-Aug-2013 19:15

raytaylor: Kennards sell boxes
And
Warehouse stationary sells the foam stuff - and bubble wrap. Oh hell they even sell boxes too i believe.

Or you can just go to your local computer shop and ask if they have a case box and some foam - they probably do from a case they ordered that morning for a build.
Edit the foam with a craft knife

Thanks Ray. I have the original box it came in, with the foam corner blocks but unfortunately I threw out the packaging that was inside the case.

richms

21721 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4507

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 880750 18-Aug-2013 22:21

Remove the cards and pack into smaller boxes with antistatic stuff etc, that way if it is messed up you wont trash them and the motherboard. Seen one dropped case where the cards ended up cracking the motherbaord.

Defiantly remove the heatsinks and pack separately, even if they dont break loose a small drop will crack the motherboard around the cpu socket. Typical ATX boards heatsink attachments are total crap how they just transfer all the load to the motherboard via the 4 tiny holes around it, but thats what happens when things get made cheaply.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

14482 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1907

Reply # 880782 19-Aug-2013 00:31

When shipping something like a computer, pack it up so it will survive a drop from 1 metre. This is what one of the courier companies recommend on their website. The Boxes a desktop case come in are useless, and there is not enough packaging around them. I have had several PCs damaged that were transported in these types of boxes, and it is a pain to get it resolved. I would at least double box it, and so there is at least 20 cm of packing around it. The rule is that you can never have enough packaging. I have noticed that dell package their stuff really well, and most things seem to come in huge boxes.