Amount of liquid in a GPU vapour chamber - okay to take through airport?

[dannyritz]

Hello. I intend on purchasing a high end blower style GPU, maybe an EVGA 1080. I'm going to use it in an SFF build, in an NCase M1, and take the whole pc with me in my carry on when I leave the U.S. I was looking at the specs of the EVGA 1080 blower style card and saw that it uses a vapour chamber, that means there will be a small amount of liquid sealed inside it. I can't seem to find any information online on how much. Has anyone had any problems taking a pc with a vapour chamber GPU through airport security?

I thought of packing it in my check in bag, but its expensive so I'd have to find some way of locking it up, and I'd have to put it in an anti static bag which I read blocks x rays. I don't want security taking out my expensive GPU to check on it.

As an aside, should I dismantle my pc when travelling? It's an Ncase M1 so its tiny and fits in my carry on which is well padded. I'm going to brace the cpu cooler with fishing line or equivalently strong thread, to take the weight off the motherboard, and brace the GPU as well to stop any vibrations.

 

[BFG-9000]

Vapor chamber is just a very wide and flat heatpipe. They contain only a few drops of liquid in low vacuum to depress the boiling temperature.

I would leave the GPU in its original box and remove the CPU cooler as well so things can really get banged around without damage.

 

[dannyritz]

Vapor chamber is just a very wide and flat heatpipe. They contain only a few drops of liquid in low vacuum to depress the boiling temperature.

I would leave the GPU in its original box and remove the CPU cooler as well so things can really get banged around without damage.

Thank you, it's good to know it's only a few drops, and sealed in too. They can't have a problem with that. I wasn't sure whether they might want me to turn the pc on. I'm carrying the Ncase M1 in the official carry on https://www.wallye.com/products/tactik-duffle - Will this be sufficient protection? I'm in two minds about this, I think I will remove the heatsink and graphics card, but still not sure. I have time to decide. Haven't even bought the components yet.

 

[BFG-9000]

Naah, they only might ask you to turn on a laptop or camera, not a desktop (how could you anyway without also lugging a monitor?). I'm actually more surprised they have no problems with all of the sharp metal desktop bits in carryon, some of which can be quite heavy or dangerous. Think about it--the slotcovers could even be sharpened and they let you bring a screwdriver now. It's truly security theater to make the masses feel secure.

In the carryon screening line they may send it through the X-ray multiple times at different angles but I've carried on a bag so stuffed full of wires and loose cards before that it had to be completely opaque on the screen. The only thing they did was swab it for explosives residue then let it through.

That case comes in a foam padded cardboard box so unless you are going to be traveling a lot with it, I'd just put the cardboard box in a normal hardshell carryon. That $120 duffel bag is small enough to be considered a "personal item" like a purse or laptop bag though (except for United Airlines), which is generally allowed in addition to a carryon bag. But so is the cardboard box in a plastic shopping bag.

 

[dannyritz]

I wish I'd asked this earlier and read your answer. I've already bought the bag, packing it in the original packing would have been better and cheaper. Not planning on moving around too much with it. I guess I can use the bag for other things too, and it does have room in it for accessories like a mouse and keyboard. I feel better knowing that security won't do something like confiscate it or make me check it in, they can x ray and inspect it all they want, no sharp edges on mine!