Bringing a Gaming PC to Uni? Is it likely to get stolen?

Hi. Really just the question.
Generally, if I keep it locked in my room for the first year I can't see it being an issue. The concern I have is when I have to live in student housing outside the uni in my second year. I don't know how safe it would be when I'm sharing a house with other people. Will bedroom doors have locks and are they reliable? I don't really want to have to buy a laptop considering I only recently bought this and it can serve the same purpose. Sure, it's not portable but uni will have laptops available to borrow.

Reply 1

TNGFR

The vast majority of student housing will have locks on each individual bedroom, so I wouldn't worry. Desktops are also less attractive targets for thieves as they're difficult to remove and escape with, and unless your case is from a recognisable brand or has a window with all the components on show, it's difficult to ascertain the value of from a distance- thieves would rather do a snatch job of easily identifiable and easily removable laptops like macbooks. If you are concerned though, like if your system is an obviously premium one with lots of RGB/water cooling or a pricey graphics card on show, consider moving the components into a less assuming case with a solid side panel that hides the valuable components from view, and as a final precaution, look at adding a Kensington lock system to your desktop to secure it in place.

Reply 2

pcgamerben8

Original post by 048243

Get yourself a good laptop lock, I got mine from Multplx store and is really good.

Reply 3

1582

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

I had a laptop and gaming consoles when I lived in halls and then shared housing. We didn't have lockable doors in the shared housing (it wasn't a "student flat") but I lived with a reliable bunch so had no issues. Actually left my PS4 in the living room (hooked up to my partner's TV) and other people were free to use it for Netflix/Disney+. One of the other lads also left his Nintendo Switch docked in there which again the rest of us were welcome to use.

I'm definitely not suggesting you be as lax, but if you have a good relationship with your flatmates then they should hopefully respect your space and your belongings.

Reply 4

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Hi there!

In my experience, the majority of student houses do also have locks on the doors so I wouldn't worry too much. Multiple flatmates that I have had have brought PC setups and had no issue at all. Regarding getting a laptop vs renting it, my only concern would be when renting, you have to be able to get in relatively early to get one as in my experience, they can go quickly. However, I would say, even if you weren't able to rent a laptop, you can always write notes on paper and then go home and rewrite them on your PC, which is something I find can be good for recall as you're actively going over the lecture content again. A laptop is definitely not a mandatory thing if you have access to some form of computer.

Hope this helps!
Jen (UoS student rep)

Reply 5

random_matt

I did that once and it was one massive hassle. Secondly, you may notice that most universities have tiny desks. Unless you like to have square eyes, I would not bother.