What's the best way to take my PC and videogames to another country?

What's the best way to take my PC and videogames to another country? - Bird's Eye View Of Roadway Surrounded By Trees

I have a gaming PC and a PS5 (also a Nintendo Switch, PSVita, Nintendo 3DS, but they're not a problem, I believe) and want to take all of them with me.

About the PC:

  1. Leave the case here, disassemble, take the parts separately and get a new case on arrival?
  2. Find the smallest ATX case I can find (because I use a big case today - NZXT h700i), and take the whole PC inside an suitcase?
  3. Sell it and get an equivalent notebook? Here in Brazil, the gaming PC market is in a very confusing moment. As hardware prices increased, selling a used PC for a fair price is very hard.

Bubble wrap would be enough to guarantee they will not be damaged in suitcase handling?

The PS5 is damn big (390 x 104 x 260mm), but I believe I can wrap it and take it with some clothes into a second suitcase, and the rest of the gadgets in a third one, along with more clothes and stuff.

I am at risk of any of my gadgets being damaged by static, or other natural phenomena?

Any tips or similar experiences?

Thanks in advance!



Best Answer

I am at risk of any of my gadgets be damaged by static or other natural phenomenon?

Your gadgets are primary at risk by baggage handlers. They bags will be thrown around and banged on quite a bit. The airlines will NOT assume any liability for damaged luggage unless it's an extreme case of abuse so you will carry a lot of risk yourself.

Good packaging would be crucial but the safest option is a flight case. However, there are not cheap and you may have to also pay for extra baggage and/or extra weight, so you need to weigh the risk vs. money trade off here.




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Can I take my PC to another country?

Yes, you can ship new or used computer parts and hardware overseas by courier. As long as all the items are properly packed, shipping used PC parts is not only safe but also convenient when you are selling them to online customers.

How do I travel with my gaming PC?

Here are some tips for moving your PC any distance:
  • Back it up. ...
  • Unplug everything (and organize it) ...
  • Remove larger components. ...
  • Pack like a pro. ...
  • Put it on the floor.


  • How do you pack and move a gaming PC?

    TRANSFER the protected gaming PC mid-tower into a sturdy cardboard box that's slightly bigger than the tower itself. Then, fill in any remaining gaps in the box with crumpled pieces of paper until the computer box fits snugly and cannot shift around inside the packing box.

    How do you ship a PC?

    Place the wrapped computer inside a sturdy box. Wrap accessories (e.g., keyboard, power cords, adapters, and cables) in bubble packaging. Place them in an open space inside the box if available. If there's no room, pack them in a separate box.



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    More answers regarding what's the best way to take my PC and videogames to another country?

    Answer 2

    It is possible to pack the PC and that it would arrive safely but there are precautions to take that will help but not guarantee its safety due to rough handling. Turns out I have successfully taken an entire PC between North and South America twice and only had a slight cosmetic damage the last time.

    Ideally, I would pack the PC into the box that the case was sold in which usually has styrofoam exactly the right shape and designed to ship the case. Not all airlines accept boxes as luggage or you may not have the box and neither did I, so this is how it worked for me:

    • Wrap the entire computer in a yoga mat or towels and tape that all around so that it does not move. Not doing so once made the towels moved and expose a corner of the case.
    • Place the wrapped computer case inside a hard-shell suitcase. This meant shopping for a suitcase as I also had a fairly large case and only found one 31" hard-shell where it fit with all the padding.
    • Remove rotating HDD from the PC and place in your carry-on. Not wanting to deal with installing a new CPU fan unnecessarily, I left it in the PC but took a spare one in my carry-on just in case.
    • Fill open spaces in the PC case with foam blocks. This was to make the case more rigid so that any give in the suitcase would not be delivered to the PC only when stacked among other luggage.
    • When handing the suitcase to baggage-drop, told them it was fragile and they added a warning label. This had two side-effects: One is that someone carried the suitcase to the rolling cart rather than putting it on the luggage belt. The other is that they made me sign a waiver saying they were not responsible for damage!

    To make things easier should anything happened, I also removed the SSDs and placed them in my carry-on. That way, at least it was possible to get back my system up and running if the PC did not make it.

    It is hard to imagine selling and buying again is worth it if your system is reasonably new unless you are taking it to a market where electronics are much cheaper than where you bought it.

    Honestly, I didn't think of taking it appart and leaving the case but that sounds like a good idea. Packing each part will be easier and take less space. If you don't have unusual requirements for a case, that could work well. Again, pack everything carefully as above.

    Lastly, there is no guarantee that anything won't happen, so prepare a contingency plan. Make sure to carry backups separately or have them cloud-based. Purchase extra insurance if your PC is expensive. Luggage does get lost too. With pricey equipment, it is even more likely in some places.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Joshua Welch, Armin Rimoldi, Keira Burton, Armin Rimoldi