Transporting & Storing Desktop Computer

[capreppy]

Ok.

I am about to start a long term (up to 24 months) consulting project. I will have 3 to 4 nights a week away from home and I wanted something there to use for gaming. I had thought about an XBox 360, but I need more utility. In addition, my laptop for work really doesn't work fast enough (I run Oracle 9i, Informatica, Actuate, and other software). So I decided to build. I've got my rig decided on and will be building after the July 22nd Intel price cuts.

This is my situation:
I am a software application consultant. I will be in Chicago, IL for the next 24 months. I fly up on Monday mornings (sometimes Sunday nights) and return home on Thursday afternoons. I will be staying at a hotel that I can store (with assurance that only I can get to it) my rig and accessories.

I will be transporting this rig and monitor to my home away from home. I will probably ship there and then ship back home at the end of the engagement. I would take on the plane, but I've flown enough to know that that probaby isn't a good idea. Even with a tag that said fragile, I'm pretty damn sure, it'll get tossed onto the belt by a luggage handler.

While at the hotel, I was thinking of a foot locker (or something similar) well padded with foam padding. The foot locker will need to hold my rig (Antec 900 Case) and monitor (Samsung 245BW) and other miscellaneous accessories. It will probably be shipped in this so I don't have to find one after it's already there.

Dimensions:
Antec 900 Case - 19.4'' x 8.1" x 18.4" (LxWxH)
Samsung 245BW - 22" x 17.5" x 3" (WxHxD) (Without Stand)
probably 1-2" foam padding below the Antec 900
probably 1-2" foam padding between the Antec 900 and the Samsung 245BW
probably 1-2" foam padding above the Samsung 245BW

So my questions:
I will be installing a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler, should I worry about padding that in some fashion so that it doesn't move around in transport? or while being stored?
Is the idea of a foot locker (or similar) a good idea?
Has anyone had a similar situation? What did you do?

BTW, I did look at Pelican Cases. The Pelican 370 Cube Case works perfectly (I think), but at $400 for the complete solution, not really practical.

[Patti Edens]

The shipping department of the company I work for ships all my electronic equipment for jobs in wooden crates. If large enough (gas chromatographs), they add a pallet to the crate. Otherwise, just a wooden box made out of heavy plywood and 2 x 4s. They custom make them for whatever I ship. I don't know how useful a wooden crate would be for moving in and out of storage though.

Sometimes they make compartments in the bigger box for individual pieces of equipment or sometimes they just pack it all in tight with lots of foam and bubble wrap and peanuts.

Also, when I have a job that I have to travel to and from for an extended time (only happened once), the company puts me in an apartment or in one of the hotels that you can stay at by the week or month - so you can just leave all your stuff there in place - clothes, toiletries, hand tools, etc. Turns out to be cheaper in the long run.

Example of the box... http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_...?pricode=wk631

[capreppy]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't like apartments. I get and use my points for free vacations. I am a Marriott Elite. I don't like Residence Inn's. I only receive half points. I prefer Courtyard and up. I would truly prefer the Renaissance Hotel that is down the street from where we are staying, but it's $30/night/person more and that would blow my teams budget.

The box and monitor isn't that big. After doing some MORE looking, I think I may have found a box that can handle it. The Pelican 1640 Protector Case. It's got the right dimensions.

Has anyone ever heard of or used "All Pelican Cases 4 Less"
Pelican 1640 Protector Case is $197.50 and includes the Pick-n-Pluck Foam Set. Obviously a killer price, but don't have any way of determining the company's reputability

This particular case is large enough for the Monitor & Rig. I would only have a keyboard and mouse, headset as accessories. The LCD Stand is the only thing that concerns me. The dimensions I gave in my original post is WITHOUT the stand. It's awkward and may not fit in the case. It may have to sit outside of the case.

[TXhummer2]

95% of problems after any computer move are connectors. Just make sure you open the computer and reseat all the connecting cables. Watch out for dust bunnies.