some tips for the people lookign to come up for evo3
i couldn find teh thread where everyone else was giving tips on this topic so i made this one
Quote:
If for some reason you're flying to a LAN party -- and I've seen it done -- you may have to go through the angst of flying your computer as well. Before you do, check and see if there is some affordable way to rent a computer when you get there, instead. It's doubtful, but it might be an option.
If you've decided to fly your machine out there, take some precautions but don't stress too much. I've seen lots of people do it and I haven't heard of any problems yet. LANparty.com has some advice to help you get your system through in one piece:
Stuff in the baggage compartment of a plane will get knocked around. Accept it.
...and the luggage handlers are even worse. Prepare for that.
In other words, the best way to handle it is to carry your CPU as a carry on. This will work for most CPUs, provided you don't have one of those "Monster Towers" that resemble the monolith from 2001. Best place to keep your CPU is right under the seat in front of you, so you can keep an eye on it.
If you can avoid bringing your monitor, do so. See if there's an extra monitor where you're going, or if you can rent one.
If you do need to check either your monitor or CPU in as baggage, they really have to be in their original packaging, securely tucked in styrofoam to survive the bumps and jostles.
Remember those old luggage commercials where they had this gorilla in a cage trash somebody's stuff? Try not to think about that.
Try to insure your stuff if the airline has a way to do this.
Mark everything as Fragile. Mark it as fragile on every visible face.
Someone I know had a great little trick. They would check their CPU in as baggage, but not before removing all of their cards and their hard drives and anything that was breakable. They kept all the cards with them because they fit easily inside a carry-on bag. Meanwhile, the CPU got beat around as much as those sadists wanted to, and it didn't really make a difference.
Despite all the problems with air travel and computers I've seen people do it all the time and haven't really heard any stories of permanent damage. One guy checked in his CPU as baggage and when it got there he saw that all the cards had been knocked out of the mother board. He re-set them and they worked fine, although from then on I think he took his CPU as a carry-on. :)
Maybe this will make you feel better: One time I travelled across country and decided to ship my computers UPS. Most shipping places have this service where you can bring them your computer and its original boxes and they'll package it for you, and because they package it they'll gladly insure it for you. My computer and monitor and speakers made it all the way from Weehawken, New Jersey to Costa Mesa, California -- and despite a big hole in the side of my monitor box that I don't want to ask about -- they worked perfectly. Sometimes they're more resilient than you think.
obtained from http://www.lanparty.com/articles/travel/travel.shtml