Question Storing PC in a basement long-term?

[Technoidy]

So last year I built myself an expensive ($2k+) gaming PC. Now I'm going to be moving to a campus for around 18 months or more, where I can't bring anything with me. So I'm in the process of getting rid of my stuff, but a friend is going to let me leave a couple boxes of stuff in his basement. I'm considering just packing my PC well and keeping it there, since I'd just buy another one as soon as I graduate, so selling this one instead of keeping it would really just be an unnecessary loss of money in the long run.

But since it's so expensive, I'm anxious about something happening to it for the year+ that it's going to be sitting in his basement. I live in Missouri, it gets very hot and very cold and I have no idea how well regulated his basement temperature is, but it's probably very poor. Would this be a problem? I don't mind having to reapply thermal paste to the CPU when I get it back. Mostly worried about something breaking in the extreme temperatures over the seasons.

Would disassembling it and individually packing each component into its original box (I still have all the original boxes) be safer? Or is it too risky and I should just sell it? I'm also going to be storing my Valve Index there.

 

[Eximo]

If you have the box for the chassis that should be suitable protection. You can even put the whole computer in a sealed bag. That would keep moisture out.

Then seal the box with tape, and maybe additional tape on the bottom of the box to give that a semi water proof bottom.

One could argue that selling the GPU is probably worth doing now if it is just going to sit for a while. Getting a new GPU later is no big deal and there should be something nicer available.

GPUs are also heavy and can break lose with extensive handling, so removing it a minimum is a good idea. Same with a large air cooler.

AIO coolers should be fine.

 

[clutchc]

The only issue I see is the 18 month temp swings from cold to hot and visa-versa in a dank basement. Condensation might form even inside the sealed packaging outline above. (which is a good idea, btw) I too live in the midwest, so I'm familiar with the weather; hot, cold, on and off again humidity. The one saving grace is that your away time is probably not long enough to have the condensation damage anything. I would be sure to let the system sit open in a dry environment for a day or so before powering back on.

 

[USAFRet]

Consider this...

Some of the PCs you see in the bigbox stores have been in the warehouse for 18+ months.

If you have the original box for the case, put it in that.
Wrap it up in a large garbage bag, to ward off insects.

It will be fine.

 

[drea.drechsler]

So last year I built myself an expensive ($2k+) gaming PC. Now I'm going to be moving to a campus for around 18 months or more, where I can't bring anything with me. So I'm in the process of getting rid of my stuff, but a friend is going to let me leave a couple boxes of stuff in his basement. I'm considering just packing my PC well and keeping it there, since I'd just buy another one as soon as I graduate, so selling this one instead of keeping it would really just be an unnecessary loss of money in the long run.

But since it's so expensive, I'm anxious about something happening to it for the year+ that it's going to be sitting in his basement. I live in Missouri, it gets very hot and very cold and I have no idea how well regulated his basement temperature is, but it's probably very poor. Would this be a problem? I don't mind having to reapply thermal paste to the CPU when I get it back. Mostly worried about something breaking in the extreme temperatures over the seasons.

Would disassembling it and individually packing each component into its original box (I still have all the original boxes) be safer? Or is it too risky and I should just sell it? I'm also going to be storing my Valve Index there.

Include several silica gel packets inside the tightly tied clean plastic trash bag to absorb moisture. That way it can't condense out on the contents (your computer) through temperature changes. And use a heavy gauge plastic lawn waste bag that's much harder to poke holes in.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=silica+gel+packets&crid=1PS4GRTHRXG70&sprefix=silica+gel+packets%2Caps%2C68&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

It's kind of sad to store a computer for so long instead of using it. That's because it's relative computing power can fall so much as the industry marches ever onward. In that sense, it might actually be a good idea to sell it and buy new (again)... and likely more powerful... when you get back to a place where you can use it. But there's a lot of economic uncertainty these days, with inflation and price increases making it just as likely you couldn't replace it at even near the same cost for the same processing power.