Risk of air flying parts?

[CAaronD]

Due to overpriced parts in my country, I am thinking of bringing back some parts from another country, since I am on holiday. So, what if I pack my parts (still in the original boxes) in my luggage carefully? What are the risks of it getting broken from air turbulence? Also, I will not be able to test the parts. So if they give me a bad component, but I have warranty, that's as good as nothing. What are the chances of getting bad parts too? Anybody want to share their experiences with carrying parts overseas?

Thanks.

 

[RunLuke]

Stuff is air carried all the time. Make sure you have a buffer zone of clothes or other stuff around the parts, since the people handling the luggage aren't the most gentle. All in all, I've flown with a ton of camera equipment over the years and none of it has ever broken.
Regarding bad parts... Well, I don't know, I've never gotten a DOA component, others have. Make the salespeople check it for you, if there are any bent legs in the socket and such.

 

[Vexillarius]

Lots of computer parts are shipped by air by the manufacturers themselves. That's how they get stuff from the factories to overseas shops. The regular packaging should be able to handle it.

That said, it's never a bad idea to wrap the whole thing in bubblewrap and newspaper just to be sure. You'll be absolutely fine that way.

As for DOA parts, it happens sometimes. Mobo's and GPUs seem to have it happen the most often in my experiences. It happens in a few percent of cases so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Keep in mind that some brands allow you to send broken parts (bought from authorized resellers) under warranty to regional service centers, regardless of where it was bought. It might be worth it to take the time to read the brand's warranty policy.

 

[CAaronD]

Thanks for the help! I'm quite reassured now! 😛

 

[pecul1ar]

I was planning this upgrade route cause the parts in my side of the world is a bit late (eg. we still dont have a number brands carrying nvdia 980s). Not being able to test the parts because? You really should try to piece em together and at least POST it. Anyway.. my original plan was to get the mobo, memory, cpu, gfxcard and psu. Displays can develop dead pixels, casing is too bulky, mice+keyboard+dvdrom isn't really an issue back in my country.

That said I have flown with a mobo sandwiched between clothes, memory sticks inside socks, and a vidcard between towels. The stuff wasn't packed too tight cause it might bend some of those tall capacitors and I tied the clothes so that the sandwich doesn't get undone.

 

[CAaronD]

I can't test it, because I only got half of the build 😛 And I'm not sure if I can ask them if they can test the parts?

 

[pecul1ar]

How are you gonna purchase them? You're gonna visit some shops? Order online? Doing the computer shop route, you can ask them to plop the stuff into computers for a quick test/game..

..altho from your post, it seems you have already bought em, eh?

 

[CAaronD]

Yes, I had already bought the parts. Well, I got a few remaining parts (except for case) so I should be able to test it now.

Thanks for the help!