A small form factor I can take on a plane?

[Crackhour1]

Hello all, this is the first posting on these great forums - normally most questions and nuggets are answered by a quick search.

Any way to my dilemma....

I have recently moved back to the UK, and I will be here for a couple of months. In the past whilst I have been abroad I have relied on very expensive gaming laptops, and although great I have felt that they are somewhat lacking. So on my return to the UK and with some cash burning a hole in my pocket I want to build a real PC, but..... One that could be carried with me on an airplane to my next posting. The country I will be based in (Qatar) has a very limited custom pc scene, so I thought it best to get one whilst I am back home in the good old UK.

The spec for this build needs to be good for the next 2 or so years. I don't need top of the line graphics, maybe 250 pounds tops?? just one that fits and does not sound like a VTOL. Maybe 800 pound for the box? I think that is a reasonable amount.

Now can a PC like this conform to the size requirements and weight issues of carry on luggage? If it exceeds the 7kg some components could be put in my checked baggage.

Would customs be concerned by a metal cube being taken on as carry on luggage?

Thanks for taking the time to look at the post, not sure if people have ever thought about this, but you can't beat a real PC compared to a laptop.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Gary*]

It can be done, for sure

Do you need monitor/OS/keyboard/mouse in this budget?

What games will you be playing? because you could get the Lian Li Q11 case, though this only houses GFX cards upto 9.5" - so you'd be limited to the GTX 460/HD 5770 range, which may not pack enough oomph for the games you might be wanting to play.

Also, knowing what resolution and size monitor will help determine the GFX card

 

[Crackhour1]

Thanks for the response.

In answer to some of your questions:

I will be running windows 7.

Yes I will need a keyboard and mouse. However - I won't include that in the 800 budget.

Screen size 21 - 24 inch, so maybe 1900 x 1200 ? - However, that does not mean I will be playing games in that resolution. I Won't be using anything like that in the UK, just any old monitor I can get my hands on. A monitor cost is not part of the 800 budget. Current generation of Gcards is prefered - if possible.

Cheers

 

[Marvin]

I would suggest the following:

Case: Lan Gear Da Box 100 (try to ignore the name. It's an MATX case that can fit decent sized GPUs, PSUs and coolers in, yet remains very small) - ~£135 (for the non-window version)
Motherboard: Asus P8P67M - £94.98
CPU: Intel i5 2500K - £167.99
RAM: Kingston 2x4GB 1333MHz CAS9 - £49.99
GPU: Sapphire 6950 2GB with Dirt 3 - £203
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200.12 - £39.99
PSU: OCZ ModXStream 500W - £53.99
ODD: Samsung Laptop ODD - £22.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair A50 - £28.99

Total: £816.91

That'll last some time.

 

[Crackhour1]

Thanks for the reply Marvin,

The spec looks good. However, have you or anyone on the forum had any experience of taking a PC onto an airplane as carry on luggage? The dimensions I keep finding that are the maximum for carry on are:
500x370x250

The lan box is 370x288x217 - so it does fit within the size requirements, which is great - also there is a carry case available

Now has anyone out there weighed in their Micro ATX builds? - what is the average weight of a SFF box (case with all components) On the airlines (economy class) the weight is usually 7kg (+/- 10%)

Also how do you think airport scanners and security will react to such an item? - will I have to take the case shell off, before it goes through the scanner? or will it be OK as a sealed unit?

Cheers for all the help thus far.

Mark