How to pack a graphics card

Before it goes in a box

Anti-static bag, always

The bag it came in or a new metallized one. This is the cheapest step in the whole process, and it prevents the only damage that's invisible from outside.

Remove anything attached

Anti-sag brackets, support stands, and power adapters ship in their own bag — never attached to the card, never loose against it.

Photograph it working

A photo of the card running in a system — or at minimum a clear shot of the board and serial number — is the evidence that it left alive. You'll attach these to the order in a minute.

The original box is the gold standard

GPU retail boxes have molded inserts engineered for exactly this card. If you kept it, use it — inside an outer shipping box with two inches of fill around it.

No original box? Build the support yourself

Wrap the bagged card in two to three inches of foam or bubble wrap, snug enough that nothing shifts. Support the card along its full length — the goal is that it cannot flex or pivot.

Respect the weight

Flagship cards run two to three kilograms, and almost all of it is cooler hanging off a PCB. If the card can bounce inside the box, that mass works the solder joints with every bump. Immobile is the standard.

Protect the bracket and the fans

The PCIe bracket and fan blades take the corner hits. A cardboard sleeve over the bracket end and padding that keeps pressure off the fan blades prevents the two most common cosmetic complaints.

Boxing it

Double-wall box, two-inch rule, shake test

Everything from the basics guide applies, with less margin for error — a GPU is the densest thing most people ever ship.

One card per box is the safe default

Shipping several? Give each its own wrapped cocoon with a rigid divider between them. Cards grinding against each other arrive as one working card and one claim.