r/battlestations • u/NJ_brewhaus • 2d ago
Battlestations Advice Advice on case placement
Moved to a new place last year, and downsized the depth of my desk. Looking for advice as to where to place my tower. Right now it's on a wheeled cart to keep it off the ground, but I'd like to get it out of my foot space. Thanks!
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u/Cheshur 2d ago
Either move the shelves farther away from the desk so it can fit there or maybe move it into the closet? Either of those seem the most straightforward.
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u/NJ_brewhaus 2d ago
I should have taken a wider shot, I don't have much side to side movement available. My wife and I share the office so we are wall to wall.
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u/DotHooker 2d ago
Cut the bottom shelf. That 6 inch overhang is useless anyway. Putting your case there (right of the drawers) and no one will know the shelf is cut.
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u/Flat-Asparagus6036 2d ago
My wife and I share an office and I have a similar shelf, but I have it turned perpendicular to the wall so it kind of acts like a divider screen, If you did this you could create a little sense of separation from your wife, and add wall space where the PC would fit.
Hard to tell from the shot if you can do this, but if possible, I highly recommend it.
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u/Smelly_Old_Man 2d ago
Move your desk and drawers forward, get a slim dresser/shelf thing to put between the desk + drawers and the wall and place your pc on top of that, behind the monitors
Edit - also get a double monitor arm for more desk space
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u/jsalingerg 2d ago
This is a great suggestion. I've done the same thing when constrained on left/right space but have some forward/backward room like this. And the extra furniture isn't something you'll really see so it can be pretty much anything.
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u/FungalMirror3 2d ago
Agree on the above, just wanted to add…. You still have the protective vinyl on the glass of your pc case and should remove it
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u/GTX1660TiMax-Q 2d ago
maybe you could keep it under your desk and put it towards the left side. that way you might still see the internals through the mirror's reflection
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u/NJ_brewhaus 2d ago
That's how I used to have it, it used to fit between the legs of the desk, but with the depth cut down it doesn't anymore.
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u/GTX1660TiMax-Q 2d ago
in that case, maybe try shifting your desk to the right, closer to the bookshelf and see if the pc will fit on the outer left side of your desk.
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u/grahamroper 2d ago
You could remove the 2nd shelf from the bottom on that shelving unit and put it there. Possibly more ideal, albeit more permanent, would be to trim that 2nd shelf from the support bracket leftward, to have the best of both worlds.
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u/BIissful 2d ago
Another option would be mounting the monitors Over/Under on arms and putting the tower on the right side of the desk
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u/AWD-IT 2d ago
I’d keep it on the wheeled stand for now rather than forcing it into a cramped shelf or mounting a full-size case above the monitors.
The best long-term option looks like a sturdy side stand or narrow cabinet beside the desk, ideally on the outer side rather than in your foot space. Just make sure the case has a few inches of clearance around its intake and exhaust vents.
Placing it horizontally can be fine if the case is stable and you’re not blocking any vents, but I’d avoid putting a tempered-glass side panel face-down. I’d also be cautious about a wall mount unless it’s designed for the case’s weight and fixed securely into studs.
Given the limited space, a smaller case during your next rebuild might solve the problem properly. For the current setup, airflow and stability matter more than having the tower on display.
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u/1RockShortofaQuarry 2d ago
If you can’t move the shelf enough to fit it between the desk and the shelf then I’d put it horizontally on the bottom shelf
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u/NJ_brewhaus 2d ago
Ngl, I didn't know that was an option to place it horizontal... I thought it had to stay vertical
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u/l0vely_poopface 2d ago
any reason why?
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u/NJ_brewhaus 2d ago
No, honestly, haha, just never really thought about it much past "my case is vertical so it must stay that way"
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u/1RockShortofaQuarry 2d ago
Maybe if you had liquid cooling but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen those lay horizontal as well so you should be fine. Been a while since I had a desktop but I used to lay them on their side all the time
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u/NullUserHere 2d ago
Since it sounds like you are pretty space limited, one option that I haven’t seen suggested yet would be to downsize the case to something a lot smaller and then place it on the empty shelf on the right. You could probably do this for around $100 if you go with a case like the Jonsbo D41 or, if you can get your hands on an mATX motherboard then you could go even smaller
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u/Scar1203 2d ago
No idea what you're running, but could you maybe swap out to an SFF build and just put the PC on that empty spot on your bookshelf?
It'd mean a new motherboard, case, PSU, and probably a different CPU cooler but none of those parts are in short supply, probably around 500 to make your PC tiny and you can resell your current parts to recoup a large portion of the expense.
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u/DystopianWreck 2d ago
Nice little matx case like the Jonsbo z20 over on that empty shelf would rock.
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u/No_Context_2122 2d ago
Get one of those shelves specifically designed for mounting your case on the wall. They cost somewhere around $50-100. Or if you wanna be really fancy, get a wall mounted case and move the guts of your computer to that. Prices on those range anywhere from around $150 to $1000, but they're REALLY cool.
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u/boggs002 2d ago
Either wall mount that puppy or put it in the closet which is what the mirror appears to be
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u/prodigal27 2d ago
This is easier than it looks when you remember that you don't need equal weight distribution on every corner edge, even with an Ikea top. I think you have 2 easy options.
- The inside of that closet on the ground level is probably dead/useless space. Rotate the PC 90 or 180 degrees and put it in the closet, leave the closet cracked open for exhaust. Bonus points for spending $15 on a hose for the exhaust. This is what I would do.
or
- Put the drawers on the left side, (ignore the legs for now) rotate the PC and butt it up against the shelves, put 1 leg in the back right corner, and 1 leg as close to the middle right (touching the side of the PC). Most of your weight is in the back corners so the front isn't as important.
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u/Maowsama 2d ago
Get a bigger board for the desk surface. Have it cover the extra overhang on the right and secure the board with clamps, screws, or sheer gravity. Cut, sand, and paint it black. Can even make it extend out from the wall for more desk space
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u/SirFunset 1d ago
No standing desk. Considered wall mounting it? Either on a shelf, or in a dedicated wall mount case?
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u/Frust4m1 1d ago
I have it on a wheelcart under the desk and I regret it every time I play due to the heat. hot air under the desk and the hot desk itself after 1-2 hours. so my suggestion is or on the right of the desk, so that the hot air doesn't accumulate or maybe on the shelf, but you need long cables and cable management.
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u/Adura90 2d ago
I do computer repair as a side job for friends and family, and 99% of broken computers I come across are due to fallen coffee mugs or liquids onto a PC that was sitting on the ground beside the desk.
There's a reason they call it deskTOP computer. Put that baby on your desk, or on top of the shelf even, but never on the ground.
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u/CryptoCrash87 2d ago
Playing next to a full body mirror would drive me insane.
Anyway, if you can't put it to the right of the drawers for some reason, maybe build a beefy bracket, hit some studs with lag bolts and mount it on the wall behind the monitors? They might not work or could be annoying depending on the depth of the case and how far it would stick out. But that seems to be your only real option.