Suspending computer under desk

I want to suspend my computer under my large Ikea desk so it's out of the way and not visible.

It's a mini tower case and I want to have it on its side rather than vertical as it would be if it were stood on the floor.

I'm looking for ways to do it and so far have thought of making a platform for it which would be suspended from the underside of the desk using those long metal strips with holes in you get at builders merchants.

Anyone got any better ideas?

Reply to
Murmansk
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Just make sure that any air can circulate freely.

Reply to
Michael Chare

...and use a SSD or be very sure the HDD can work freely on its new axis.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

I've seen *somewhere* a custom cage to do this, cannot remember where though... What is the desk made of, how are you going to attach to the underside of the desk's top?

Reply to
Lee

Consider careless damage to PC caused by knee or foot - or vice vera.

Think about inserting/removing CDs/DVDs - if you should ever use them.

Ditto access for USB leads, devices etc.

Reply to
Sam Plusnet

Just ensure you bend & fix the strips with care. Another option is iron wire. Use fat screws into the chip or they may pull out.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

There are at least a few such cages available commercially - made of strips of steel. They usually have one flat piece which screws to the underside of the desk. The second part has some sort of tab that fits the first part and holds the computer. Usually they have a way of applying a padlock.

A pain if you ever need to do anything to the PC. Can transmit noise through the desk.

I can't see any great difficulty in making your own, though I would choose another approach, if possible. E.g. using a laptop on the desk and having the PC tucked away in a cupboard - using remote desktop between them.

Reply to
polygonum

I don't know about "better" but I'd use one or two webbing straps. Simple, cheap, compact, versatile. I use them to attach various items to the underside of my desk, none as big as a PC it must be said, but the idea scales well.

Reply to
Mike Barnes

How hot does it get? Some towers need airflow the way up they are, and can overheat if not used that way. Brian

Reply to
Brian-Gaff

Professional "hangers" for tower computers are available on the market. I got one from CPC about 10 years ago.

Reply to
charles

En el artículo , Sam Plusnet escribió:

Most optical drives have 'lips' which hold the disc in place so they can be used vertically.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Thanks for those replies

PC runs cool and quiet, has SSD. I'd add some foam to my "shelf" to prevent transmission of vibration to desk.

It's a massive desk to so no issue of PC getting in way as it'd be at back and well out of way. Ventilation not an issue really either. Desk substantial enough to take the load if distributed through a few screws.

I'm probably going to make some brackets by getting pairs of right angle brackets and attaching them to the opposite sides and ends of some bits of timber - amazing how things seem much easier after a night's sleep!

Reply to
Murmansk

With most tower systems they are best laid on their right side (when looking from the front) - that way the motherboard is on the bottom and not suspending the CPU heat sink and fan upside down. Also drives are normally mounted either horizontally, or vertically with the top of the drive to the left. So rotating the machine onto the right side will ensure that neither orientation of drive ends up being inverted.

Reply to
John Rumm

I screwed some drawer runners to the bottom of the desk and then made a timber/aluminium frame to create a shelf that the PC stands on, with a bit of care with the cables it can be pulled forward for access and cleaning.

Peter

Reply to
Peter Andrews

Also the sort of thing one could knock up in an hour with unistrut and a hacksaw. Unistrut - big boys' meccano :)

Reply to
Tim Watts

Nearly all HDDs can operate in any orientation except upside down. By upside down I mean with the pcb side upwards and the labels etc. underneath.

It used to be suggested that changing the orientation of disk drives that had run for a long time in one paticular position wasn't a good idea but I've never seen any real evidence of that.

Reply to
cl

Actually why not take the lid off,. screw the lid to the desk and then put the lid and desk back on the chassis?

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

It was (not sure if still is) a known thing with fluid bearings. Not sure what the mechanism is, but after many many hours in one position changing the axis caused the bearings to size. Happened to me with a drive I didn't realise had fluid bearings.

Reply to
Lee

I'd be sceptical whether a PC can be suspended by its lid - they're usually pretty flimsy affairs.

There are some horizontal mount PC holders available eg

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A bit expensive compared to builders' band though.

You could bend some electrical conduit to make a roll cage style framework, or use square tube and connectors eg

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Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

The more I think about it the more I think the answer, as someone suggested earlier, is some webbing - I've got some old seatbelt strap that'll do it AND that method will prevent any vibration being transmitted to the desk!

Reply to
Murmansk

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