How to move a PC?

Is travelling with a PC safe? What if I want to move to another country in a plane or in a bumpy ride?

Will the PC be damaged or will it be fine? The heavy components such as the graphics card (GTX 970) or the CPU cooler (Hyper 212 EVO) must pose a threat. Couldn't they just break off during bumpy rides?

What if I have the PC in a suitcase and the people who handle it at the airport, or maybe I should say "don't handle it", could the PC be damaged?

Maybe you'll think I'm being paranoid, but last month I accidentally dropped my old PC off the table from a height of not more than a metre. I picked up the PC and it definitely was making a rattling noise. I opened up the case and saw that the CPU cooler had come off. I put it back into it's place (without thermal paste) and now it won't get past the blank BIOS screen.

I'm building a new PC and I don't want it to suffer the same fate. So what ways do you suggest I adopt to prevent damage to my PC when I'm moving it?

you could disassemble it completely and reassemble it at your destination if you want to be super careful.

when i had to put my desktop computer in an airplane, i removed the graphics card and put it in an anti-static bag and put it between my clothes. everything else was left intact and the case was packed into the case's original cardboard box with the foam.

the GPU is quite heavy and i wasn't sure how well it would fare being in the PCI slot when the baggage handlers would inevitable throw the box about. Also at that point, my gpu cost as much as, if not more than, everything else combined, so it made sense to keep it as safe as possible.

Laptops.

I know you can drop them too, but at least you can carry them on a plane with you in your carry on. If traveling is what you see happening in the future I wouldn't even bother building a desktop pc it's just not worth the hassle. As even when you spend crazy amounts on say shipping it through the safest way UPS or others offer It isn't 100% guaranteed, and that's some decent cash to plop down on shipping a single device when It could have been on your lap the whole plain ride, with a external decent external battery pack to keep it running if your using it on the go for gaming.

MSI GT80 Titan Is what I recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4FFYD8pufc Linus tech tips giving it an over view. It's the middle ground between both worlds but it does come at a $3000 and up price.

@Kh1ndjal Those are some great tips. I was thinking the same thing. Remove the GPU and the CPU Cooler, and I should be fine.

@ribstaylor1 I already have a desktop for that purpose. I would be moving the PC like once or twice. I'm not a frequent traveler.

Anyone else got any tips?

I moved many times in the past, including overseas. I always had my desktop PC in my household goods. No problems with any of the moves although I would check inside and re-seat everything just in case.

If I had no household goods, I probably would travel to my destination first without the PC. Once I'm settled in, I'd have someone mail over the PC to me. I would imagine UPS or FedEx would know better how to handle a PC than airline baggage folks.

From my experiences moving, I decided to buy a laptop even though they were quite expensive long ago.

You put the cooler back on without paste?

When ever I have to move a PC I just put it in the car with me. I wouldn't throw it in the back of a truck/UHAUL or anything.

@leeuwenhok: yeah that pc had a small stock cooler so i didn't worry about it. if you have a proper cooler you might want to disassemble that too.

i just remembered though, i specifically bought a micro ATX case and mobo for moving.

I won't be moving it around much, so I'm going with a mid tower and an ATX board.

I have move my pc with a plane two times in the past, I disassemble it completely and put every part on the original box's and put them in suitcase between the clothes (to be handled like a normal suitcase, throwing it around etc...), and sell the case and buy a new case when I arrive, this way it is super safe and you are traveling light.

+ you have the excitement to assemble your PC again!