Shipping PC's

**jimmm33** · December 5th, 2004, 10:52 AM

My sister who lives in another state wants me to build her a computer. I would rather not build one for her at all but I don't know if I can get out of it.

I thought about shipping the PC in the same box the case came in. Probably an Antec case. I'm concerned about the heatsink breaking off if the box is dropped.

Does anyone ship fully built PC's? Have any advice?

**InTheWayBoy** · December 5th, 2004, 01:20 PM

Shouldn't be a problem...they usually end up okay. Just insure the package of course, that way if it does break-off you can get your money back.

**Tekboy** · December 5th, 2004, 01:55 PM

Or, you can go to a UPS store, and let them pack it. They have many custom foam things to insure the safety of the unit.

I recently did this for my brother in another state, and it all went flawlessly.

**rgharper** · December 5th, 2004, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by jimmm33

Does anyone ship fully built PC's? Have any advice?

Do NOT use the box a case came in to ship a fully-assembled PC. True, in many cases it will work but if a box is damaged in transit and is "overloaded" (weighs more than the rated load) you may forfeit insurance coverage for failing to properly package the PC.

I got screwed on that once ... just once. The shipper dropped it so hard that they dented not only the case but the power supply inside the case - but since the box was rated for a 20 pound load and the PC and packaging weighed 22 pounds ... no coverage.

Now I use boxes that are rated for at least 50% more than the PC weighs, pack them myself with cut foam and peanuts, and if someone gets ham-handed again I'll get my money back out of the damaged PC.

**Archer** · December 5th, 2004, 05:29 PM

The more important question is are you prepared to provide 24/7 support for both hardware and software that you build and ship to your sister?

**jimmm33** · December 5th, 2004, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Archer

The more important question is are you prepared to provide 24/7 support for both hardware and software that you build and ship to your sister?

That is a very big concern. I'm thinking about just telling her to get a Dell.

**QPAVL** · December 5th, 2004, 08:54 PM

A DELL ?????????????????

I hope you have lots of life insurance.

Otherwise, be prepared for this.

Lets hope your sister never sees this post.

**gerf** · December 6th, 2004, 09:51 AM

Ok, she "wants a computer" correct? Well, I have plenty of family members who've thought the same thing. Of course, they also don't want the responsibility of updating the OS (assuming Win), AV or firewall. At this point, I tend to sit them down and tell it's easy to build a computer for me, but that servicing it might be a complete pain in my arse.

At this point, I tell them if they want a cheap useable computer, to buy a Dell with a big warranty. Yes, I know Dell sucks, and their proprietary hardware is a pain, and everything breaks... But it keeps the monkey off my back.

And when I have computer problems, for some reason people can't fathom that I would. Do they think I magically make hard drives impervious to crashes and bad sectors?

Ugh, Dell her ***. It's not your job to build her a car, it's not your job to be her computer b1tch.

**thirdfey** · December 6th, 2004, 10:59 AM

As rgharper says, do not ship a fully assembled computer out in the box that the case came in because the box for the case is made to ship something only as heavy as the empty case. A company we use to buy computers from did this to us and all of the computers were beat to hell. They now pack the case box with fully assembled computer in another box packed with peanuts which worked well until your whole production room is covered in peanuts. We ship stuff out using our InstaPak system which is pretty sweet but a little too much for someone that does ship out computers all that often.

I always point my family members to Dell to purchase their PC's if they are too far away for me to go work on it. I have had very good luck with Dell and don't have any complaints.