Hey man, I will be transporting it on its side (I always do that) . I will also be placing the case back in its original box with the styrofoam braces.
Im really considering take the GPU out, as its gonna be a long drive and cars on motorways are bumpy.
I would of also asked the same question about taking off a aftermarket heatsink, but im currently using stock at the mo.
I'd take out my gpu as a best practice i mean its not like its hard or time consuming to take out and replace... whether it's necessary or not is debatable. For just driving I wouldn't worry about it that much.
Ok thanks guys, I think I feel confident enough now to just leave it in there. I mean i will be putting the whole Coolmaster case back in its original box with the styrofoam braces / brackets supports things and ill be transporting it on it side.
Im probz gonna put a duvet round the whole box as well.
And when you think about it, when people buy pre build systems online, the whole machine comes in a box, preassembled I guess.
Years ago I took my PC over to my buddy's house, and when I got there it no longer worked. It was only a couple miles down the road, and I remember being a bit baffled by it.
The vibrations somehow unseated my RAM, but after reseating it, the machine was fine.
I think if I were going any real distance though, I'd just go ahead and take my GPU out. It takes so little effort, why risk it?
I've driven across country multiple times with multiple systems, never had anything break. I always laid it so the motherboard side was down on the back seat of my car, like how a test bench is set up, and moved the front seats back to make it snug so it wouldn't move. And in my time working at a pc shop I have only seen a few times where the pcie slot got ripped off the motherboard in shipping, and I'm sure you will be more careful than ups or fedex.
Since is a pretty simple thing to take out I would totally do that. Will probably take you 5 minutes more to get ready but you won't regret it for sure.
I travel back and forth with my PC from uni to home (100 miles), all components still inside, and haven't had any problems. I transport it in the motherboard box with the shipping foam, motherboard side down. You should be fine.
I might be able to offer some insight. About a year ago I moved from Alaska to Connecticut (for a three year assignment only, this state sucks balls). I have a CM Stryker case. I built a custom box out of 2x4s and .5" plywood then lined the inside with 2" thermal foam. Leaving all the of guts inside, I emptied the coolant and stuffed the case full of packing peanuts. It had no issues when it arrived 45 days later