Question Help with moving tips for a desktop

[tinpanalley]

Don't know quite where else this could go...

Given the option to have your movers move your desktop (components all removed and individually properly protected) or taking it yourself by finding a way to squeeze it into your car, which of the two would you choose.
If taking it yourself, I imagine the common wisdom would be to also remove all mobo components (GPU, RAM, CPU cooler, PCI cards, etc).

The reason for the concern is that while we do have proper professional movers taking everything else (3 hours away to another city) we do have a car we'll take some stuff in but our car is small. Meaning it will take up the trunk to leave the desktop and a box of its components next to it. Back seat already carrying our two cats.

Thoughts?

 

[DavidM012]

Remove the cpu cooler since it can detach in transport due to centrifugal forces. Take out the gpu too and package it up since it could pop out of the socket if it's bulky and the chassis is jarred somehow.

If you have the original box of your pc case the styrofoam packaging should be sufficient to keep the rest of it from knocking about.

I would choose to remove cooler and gpu and take it in car with some kind of packaging since having bulky loose objects that could fly in an accident isn't a good idea either. Wedge it down the footwell of a seat or strap it down with something.

 

[geofelt]

I think you are safe enough if you put the case in the trunk well padded and oriented so that the cooler is vertical. That way, a bump will not torque it.
With movers, you have no idea how roughly the pc will be handled.
When you get to your destination, just verify that your idle temperatures are normal. Box of parts could be packed and sent with the movers.

Be careful with packing the cats and orienting the crates.
During a Hurricane evacuation, one of our cats had a godawful crap catastrophe. Be prepared for a possible cleanup.

 

[Lafong]

Vets have sedatives that help cats deal with it.....help slightly.

 

[USAFRet]

How far is this move?
Are you driving?

If so...
Put the PC in the back seat, with a seatbelt. Don't take it apart.
Don't get in a crash.

If the cats are consuming the back seat, put the PC on the floor, passenger side.

 

[emitfudd]

I have hired movers many times and they suck. They do not care for your belongings at all. I ALWAYS take my PC's in my truck with me. I put them in the original boxes and place them face up so the GPU is vertical. I don't take anything out of the PC. Moved my gaming rig 4 times now and have never had a problem.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I've taken my computer on ~8 hour road trips and haven't really had a problem with anything getting loose or breaking off. It was mostly highway driving though. I'm assuming you're also not going to be tearing up the streets like Initial D or Tokyo Drift or trying to lift off from red lights. The only thing I did was make sure the computer was laying flat.

But if it helps you sleep better at night, then disassembling it is fine too.

 

[DavidM012]

...so it all depends how much you want your pc. Splitting the parts between your car and the movers might mean things get lost. The gpu can pop out of the socket and the cooler can fly off due to centrifugal force and if you have a bump along the road the loose parts could fly about the inside of your vehicle.

Just because nobody else had a problem doesn't mean you might not. If the cooler wrenches out it could also pull out the cpu from the socket or cause it to pop up out of it's socket and bend the pins or damage the socket because it's stuck to the cpu by the thermal paste.

If the gpu pops out of the socket and you go to turn on the pc when it's unpacked you might not understand immediately what the problem is.

So opening the case and removing the gpu and cooler and packing them up with something means you are in complete control. of the situation. You will have to look at the pc while packing and unpacking. Put those in the boot. Wedge the pc in the footwell of the rear passenger seat. So it doesn't fly around if you have a ding on the way.

Really would be super nice to have some sort of packaging around it to absorb vibrations and mild bumps. Only so much you can do just don't make any silly mistakes in a hurry.

 

[geofelt]

A properly installed gpu will not "pop out"
It is secured by a latch and screws at the i/o plate.

As to components, I read that to be spare parts such as motherboard manuals, spare psu cables, and such. No big deal if they are delayed.

I see no way centrifugal force can come into play.
Nobody is swinging the pc around in a circle.
More likely, there might be a vertical bump, hence the suggestion to put the pc on it's side or so that the cooler(assumed to be a tower type air cooler) rests vertically.

Removing and reinstalling components has more potential to cause issues.

All in all, if securely packed in the car for only a 3 hour drive, I see no problem.

Of course, this is just one opinion.

 

[Zerk2012]

I always just lay mine on the side with the CPU cooler pointing up never had a problem.

 

[tinpanalley]

Vets have sedatives that help cats deal with it.....help slightly.

The cats aren't the issue. I was just saying it to avoid people saying, "why don't you just lie the desktop down on the back seat?..."

 

[USAFRet]

The cats aren't the issue. I was just saying it to avoid people saying, "why don't you just lie the desktop down on the back seat?..."

Stand it up on the floor in the back.

Yes, I've done this.