Emigration / computer advice?

[dr.walrus]

So it's likely I'm moving out of the UK in a few months to go and live in New Zealand again, but computer-wise I'll be in a bit of a bind.

I just built a bit of a beast, a Phantom with dual GPUs, thousand watt PSU, and three monitors. Needless to say, the PC and screens have a retail value of about £1300, and a second hand value of about £900+ (at the moment). See the little dropdown thingy for specs.

Now, here's the question - what should I take with me? I'm moving for work, having a big powerful rig would be AWESOME to have as a test rig, and I can probably devote 25kg of my 30kg baggage allowance to it, but, um, with packaging, it'll certainly weigh more than that.

Should I just sell it and start again (and get a bulldozer or i7)? Should I strip it down, pack the parts up in my suitcase and take it without a case? Should I just chuck it all in a cheap case and hope it doesn't get mangled by baggage handlers (yeah right). Should I sell the PSU (I'd make a good profit on it, and it's HEAVY) and try to take my monitors too?

Halp!

[dr.walrus]

Should I just fedex the bloody thing?

[blueonblack]

If it were me, I'd take it apart, sell the case, PSU and monitors and pack the rest *well* in my luggage. I would think the other parts would pack pretty tightly and those are most of your weight, and are easy to obtain also once you arrive at your new destination.

FedEx would be a death sentence, you may as well dig a hole and shoot it yourself.

[mDust]

Should I just fedex the bloody thing?

Probably. Find out how much it would cost, if it's within reason just ship it to your new address as slow as possible the day (or day before) you leave. Check a few carriers and find out who's the cheapest, slowest and most gentle.

Take everything apart, wrap it up in paper or anti-static plastic, and package it very well. Even the most gentle package carriers aren't gentle by a long shot...it will get tossed around.

[crenn]

If you're set on taking the main computer with you, I recommend removing the PSU, GPU, the HSF on the CPU. if you can, cover the motherboard with anti static plastic so you can then put the GPU (in an anti-static bag) in the case and wrap it in bubble wrap. PSU must be separate. Also look at the cost of getting new components over in New Zealand compared with having to take them on the plane. The monitors are going to be the biggest hassle, but it is possible, but you might have to ship them in a separate box depending on several variables including weight, size and sensitivity to movement. If you still have the packaging and boxes for the monitors, you'll have a good start. Remember to get travel insurance for these items.

[dr.walrus]

If you're set on taking the main computer with you, I recommend removing the PSU, GPU, the HSF on the CPU. if you can, cover the motherboard with anti static plastic so you can then put the GPU (in an anti-static bag) in the case and wrap it in bubble wrap. PSU must be separate. Also look at the cost of getting new components over in New Zealand compared with having to take them on the plane. The monitors are going to be the biggest hassle, but it is possible, but you might have to ship them in a separate box depending on several variables including weight, size and sensitivity to movement. If you still have the packaging and boxes for the monitors, you'll have a good start. Remember to get travel insurance for these items.

The question is really 'is it worth the hassle of shipping, if it saves me some money?'

[Munty]

If it were me I'd prefer being able to ship the whole thing over if the price wasn't too much. Suggestions of partial dismantling sound quite sensible though. If it's only a standard case and such then leave it here and just take the necessary guts. The PSU (unless it's a nice one) can be easily replaced with another identical or better unit when you arrive so leave anything like that that won't cost a fortune to replace.

Big question is, are you coming back? If anything you leave will be lost to you forever then you should take as much with you as possible, otherwise there's no harm and really no rush either. Maybe you could go with none of it for now and next time you visit the UK from your new home you could take it with you then if you haven't already got impatient and had it sent over!

Hard to say without knowing what the various prices are really. If shipping the whole thing is only fiver more than being selective about it then replacing 50% of parts then it's not worth the hassle. If you can save £50 though I'd go with the cheaper option :p

[dr.walrus]

PSU is a very nice one, it's a Corsair HX1000, but I got it cheap and I'd certainly make a profit by selling it and buying something cheaper when I get there, it's also extremely heavy. The case is too big and heavy to take.

I've flip-flopped between countries for a few years now so i will probably be coming back soon.

The thing is, we're not talking about £50 here - selling and starting again would cost about £200 more than shipping IF I can get it within my baggage allowance. If I can't get it within baggage allowance, I'll need to have it shipped, at which point it's a case of swings and roundabouts.

So it seems the long and short of it is, I should strip it down and put it into a suitcase? How odd.

[nevermind1534]

I'd send it Royal Mail over FedEx if you ship it. There shouldn't be much difference in delivery time, and the postal service would be cheaper.

[dr.walrus]

I'd send it Royal Mail over FedEx if you ship it. There shouldn't be much difference in delivery time, and the postal service would be cheaper.

Too big for RM to touch, fedex are about £140 and parcelforce (which RM owns) prices me at £170. Before insurance.

[Munty]

That's ridiculous man, how heavy is it :s Do you know how long you'll be over there? Could you just spend £100 something on a normal boring system to entertain you while you're there? Maybe take just the CPU and GPU with you and transplant into a cheap second hander? Not ideal if you're there for any amount of time but I'd say over £100 to ship it is a complete joke!

[dr.walrus]

It's 20kg BEFORE packaging.

There's no point not taking it or selling it, I'll be out the country for 2yrs+ and in that time it'll depreciate in value by 60%! I honestly can't see any other viable option than taking the guts as my hold luggage and rebuilding in a new case when I get there! After doing the sums, I COULD be able to take the monitors - 15kg + 10kg of parts + 5kg of clothes?

[Konrad]

Electrical power requirements (http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm) in UK and NZ are both listed as 230V/50Hz AC, though using different plugs. So you should still be able to use your PSU in NZ after purchasing a different power cord. Same with your monitor.

You can use adapters to make UK pins plug into NZ receptacles. Or you can rewire all your cables with NZ plugs. It might actually be a good idea to bring a UK wall-receptacle with you, so you can wire it up for anything "temporary" that originates in the UK, now and years from now when your mother visits.

Any parts that you really like or that cost a lot should be taken. From everything I've read, computers and electronics in NZ are said to be ridiculously expensive, you pay a lot more to get the same stuff. So you might want to take it all with you; maybe check prices at NZ sites before deciding. You obviously want to disassemble and carefully pack all the components you're transporting. Things like crumpled paper, bubblewrap, and styro peanuts generate killer ESD, and then there's x-ray machines and magnascanners and such ... ESD baggies are highly recommended, and don't expect data on your HDDs to remain intact.

The 1000W PSU is heavy enough to possibly not be worth transporting.
The monitor/display is heavy, bulky, fragile enough to probably not be worth transporting, unless it's exceptional.
The chassis might be unnecessary if you can pack all the guts into a smaller/lighter chassis.
Your data might be precious. You should back up everything important, twice, before transport. Verify that any accounts and online storage sites you use can be accessed from NZ.
Toss the keyboard, mouse, and other globally cheap stuff. Easily replaced.

[mDust]

It's 20kg BEFORE packaging.

There's no point not taking it or selling it, I'll be out the country for 2yrs+ and in that time it'll depreciate in value by 60%! I honestly can't see any other viable option than taking the guts as my hold luggage and rebuilding in a new case when I get there! After doing the sums, I COULD be able to take the monitors - 15kg + 10kg of parts + 5kg of clothes?

You have to ask yourself: "Are the clothes really necessary?"

You could probably fit a bunch of games and peripherals in the space those clothes are taking up.

[dr.walrus]

Electrical power requirements (http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm) in UK and NZ are both listed as 230V/50Hz AC, though using different plugs. So you should still be able to use your PSU in NZ after purchasing a different power cord. Same with your monitor.


Yep all that is true, I know where i can get power cables a dime a dozen over there.



Any parts that you really like or that cost a lot should be taken. From everything I've read, computers and electronics in NZ are said to be ridiculously expensive, you pay a lot more to get the same stuff.
I've had a look at that, and it's broadly true, but the NZD is strong at the minute and stuff is expensive in the UK anyway



don't expect data on your HDDs to remain intact.

I'm gonna have to back it all up on 2.5 inch disks I reckon.



The 1000W PSU is heavy enough to possibly not be worth transporting.

yeah, that tied to the fact I can make a good profit on it means I probably won't take it



The monitor/display is heavy, bulky, fragile enough to probably not be worth transporting, unless it's exceptional.

I have three, but they're LED backlit (light)



The chassis might be unnecessary if you can pack all the guts into a smaller/lighter chassis.

I honestly don't think I can justify any chassis at all on my weight budget!

[dr.walrus]

You have to ask yourself: "Are the clothes really necessary?"

You could probably fit a bunch of games and peripherals in the space those clothes are taking up.

Love this reply. Honestly, I need to buy a load of new clothes anyway so I imagine I'll just wait til I'm there...

[slaveofconvention]

I spent a year in Australia and I took my PC with me (Full tower Chieftec Dragon on the way out, Yeong Yang 0021B on the way back - can't go a whole year without upgrades, right?) - it costs a small fortune to use a traditional courier company (as I found out) but it's a LOT more reasonable to use an excess baggage company. I used sevenseas worldwide on both my trip to and from Australia, and my wife used them when we moved her over from the USA to the UK. Definitely worth a look if nothing else.... It's a LOT cheaper if you send multiple items (first item is kinda expensive but additional ones are WAY cheaper) so if there are several items you're 50/50 on, it could definitely be the way to go....

[dr.walrus]

I spent a year in Australia and I took my PC with me (Full tower Chieftec Dragon on the way out, Yeong Yang 0021B on the way back - can't go a whole year without upgrades, right?) - it costs a small fortune to use a traditional courier company (as I found out) but it's a LOT more reasonable to use an excess baggage company. I used sevenseas worldwide on both my trip to and from Australia, and my wife used them when we moved her over from the USA to the UK. Definitely worth a look if nothing else.... It's a LOT cheaper if you send multiple items (first item is kinda expensive but additional ones are WAY cheaper) so if there are several items you're 50/50 on, it could definitely be the way to go....

+rep, this is EXACTLY the sort of thing i was looking for.

However, I got a quote online from sevenseas and it's as I feared, simply not worth shipping.

It's ALMOST worth shipping the monitors, because of the replacement cost, the fedex quote was just over £100 (gotta love LED backlighting), air freight too. I don't think the Phantom is going to survive the journey, I'll sell it, the GPU and PSU, plus my velociraptor, triple-backup my data onto 2.5 inch disks, go over there, get a new GPU, PSU and an SSD and case.

[Munty]

What's the spec on the PSU and how much would you look to sell it for? Same with the monitors if you have 3 and won't be taking all of them! Just thinking as I'm looking to build a nice gaming rig in the near future and it might help you with some cash and a partial solution to trasnport ;)

[dr.walrus]

PSU is a Corsair HX-1000, would take 110 for it, Monitors are 22" Benq G222HDL 1080p LED backlit, would take 80 each for them. Move could be anywhere between May and August though :s

[BuzzKillington]

You can try calling postal services in the area and see if they'll hold it once the item gets there.

[dr.walrus]

You can try calling postal services in the area and see if they'll hold it once the item gets there.
...I'm using the computer now so I can't sell it until then. Why would I be shipping it yet?! :whistler:

[simon275]

Computer gear is much more expensive in NZ then in UK or US. So I would look at sell then buy vs shipping.

Also if you ever come across to Sydney Aus send me a PM and I will show you around. Flights are cheap across the Tasman.

[dr.walrus]

Thanks for the offer! Spent a few days in Sydney actually, pretty epic to be able to buy a pie with peas and gravy there

[BuzzKillington]

...I'm using the computer now so I can't sell it until then. Why would I be shipping it yet?! :whistler:

Maybe I missed something since I didn't read the entire thread aside from your first post but.....what? You want to get your rig from point a to point b and you're trying to find the best method, that's what I gathered. I just assumed you'd have stuff to do and perhaps need time to have a place to ship to so I figured having your rig shipped to a fedex facility and held would be a good option. :think:

[dr.walrus]

Maybe I missed something since I didn't read the entire thread aside from your first post but.....what? You want to get your rig from point a to point b and you're trying to find the best method, that's what I gathered. I just assumed you'd have stuff to do and perhaps need time to have a place to ship to so I figured having your rig shipped to a fedex facility and held would be a good option. :think:

Nah that's not a concern. It'd travel at along the same time I did, and since I'm moving for work, my potential employer would hold it for me anyway. I'm not considering any ground shipping options because I don't have seven weeks!

[crenn]

Also if you ever come across to Sydney Aus send me a PM and I will show you around. Flights are cheap across the Tasman.
Don't go to Sydney! Go to Melbourne, it's better! I guarantee it! :DAnd on that note, I'm going up to Sydney on Thursday

[dr.walrus]

Don't go to Sydney! Go to Melbourne, it's better! I guarantee it! :DAnd on that note, I'm going up to Sydney on Thursday
Actually, I know some people in Melbourne, I imagine I'll be going at some point