Shipping Computer to UK, Reduce Shipping Weight?

[hunterman223]

I will be moving to the UK in a month or so, and will be shipping my desktop computer beforehand. It weighs 16 or 17 pounds with all of it's components in. To reduce the weight, I want to remove the PSU, the Hard Drive, and the Optical Drive and store them in my checked baggage. Any tips on doing this? I plan to at least wrap the hard drive in bubble wrap and put it in an ESD sensitive bag. Will the power supply and optical drive be okay in between clothes without bubble wrap or ESD bags? Thanks in advance.

[Navck]

Powersupply should be OK, I would put the optical drive in an ESD bag. (Personal thing, just wouldn't trust it bare.)

The harddrives if you really, really worry about them, you should place in your carry on luggage. Otherwise they're able to take the shock (Check their specsheets out, they're more durable than you think!) with your clothing padding them during non operation.

The powersupply is incredibly shock sensitive (You should see what happened to some of the PC Power and Cooling PSUs and the horrible return rate). Make sure its padded within your clothing and possibly bubble wrapped if needed.

Optical drive should be OK if you pad it with clothing.

[hunterman223]

Thank you very much. Just what I needed. The drive's specifications say 300g shock non-operational. I have no idea how much that is in real-life terms, but I think I will pack it in my carry on.

[RealBlackStuff]

Check that your PSU is switchable to the UK's 230V.
If not, leave it in the USA and buy one locally in the UK.

[killer]

@hunterman223: The best journey I ever did from the USA to the UK was New York City to Southampton by ship. Anyone could carry whatever they liked with no weight limit. If that included a car then no problem. OK, it took a bit longer than air travel and where you live isn't handy for NYC but I just thought I'd mention it.

Where are you going to be based here, and are you ready for real beer?

[hunterman223]

@RealBlackStuff: There is a switch on the back of the PSU that says 115 or 230. I am assuming that means it is dual voltage?

@killer: We checked into travelling by boat but decided that since we live in Minnesota, travelling to New York and then getting on the boat would not be price-wise. We will be living in Great Yarmouth, and yes, maybe even ready for a real beer!

[RealBlackStuff]

Yep, PC is OK.
There are some great pubs in Great Yarmouth, which has a nice harbor on the East coast of England, north of the Thames estuary.
Great beaches. Good place for sailing as well, with nearby Lowestoft as an alternative.
You'll need to start liking lukewarm beer, ale and bitter (yechhh) if you want to survive there.
And prepare for some of the worst food in Europe!

[hunterman223]

Yeah, it seems like a decent enough city, although I don't know about the lukewarm beer or the bad food! Where we will be living the beach is just a few blocks down the road, so that will be great! Thanks for the great info.

[killer]

Great Yarmouth is OK; busy in summer but quiet out of season. Don't be afraid of trying real beer. Most people love it after half a pint. Adnams beer (brewed in neighbouring Suffolk) is excellent. If in doubt go for a pint of Fuller's London Pride.

Despite RBS's warnings about food you may be pleasantly surprised by the quality of grub served in pubs and restaurants provided you don't eat in mass market places. It all depends on the chef - and there are excellent chefs in the UK - we have one in my local pub.

Have fun!

[Navck]

g = 9.8m/s² (Gravity of Earth)
300g = 9.8m/s²
The specsheet should say something about "300g for 2ms duration" (Withstand 300*9.8m/s² acceleration/deceleration.)
That would be similar to having a nice wooden or steel desk and dropping the harddrive... Maybe 2-3 inches onto it? (Non operating shock here.)

I would worry about more about the logic board than the inside of the drive at that point.

[paul*robertson]

You'll need to start liking lukewarm beer, ale and bitter (yechhh) if you want to survive there.
And prepare for some of the worst food in Europe!

And this is from a country that has Budweiser (yuk) and a burger joint every 100 yards.

Dont worry, we have proper lager over here, and if you can cook (or your wife can) you will be fine. There's a huge choice of decent food.
Your local team will be Norwich city,.........and we call it football, not soccer

[RealBlackStuff]

FYI: I'm Irish, currently living in the USA.
And I totally agree with your assessment of cat's piss and cardboard.

[killer]

FYI: I'm Irish, currently living in the USA.
And I totally agree with your assessment of cat's piss and cardboard.

LMFAO!

[hunterman223]

Thanks everyone for the comments!

And I totally agree with your assessment of cat's piss and cardboard.

I also, LMAO!