Mac Mini on its side?

The only part that might care is the optical drive. Solid state electronics and hard drives will work in any orientation; sideways, upside-down, what-have-you.

However, you might want to double-check where the vents are. Some items place vents on the sides and blocking vents causes stuff to overheat and die. I am fairly sure that the Mac Mini’s vents are elsewhere so it won’t be an issue, but I’m not 100% certain.

As for a monitor blocking the wifi antenna, I could say a few things about Apple’s spotty track record with antenna and the resulting issues the iPhone has with dropped calls, but the truth is that it really shouldn’t matter. If that were true then laptops in general would have severe problems with wifi reception as their antenna are in the screen, or at least closer to it than any desktop monitor can ever get. Either it’s hype designed to make you spend more money or it’s a design flaw of epic proportions. Given that I haven’t heard that caveat, I would guess the first one.

@jerv, the mac mini’s vents are in the back, the back side, where the ports are. I have one and just checked; the attached cables make it impossible to block the vents so that wouldn’t be an issue. The only problem with putting it on its side is that thing’s center of gravity becomes a problem, the damn keeps tipping over and that would be an issue, I think.

@lillycoyote Thanks. You can only tell so much from pictures and memory.

Yes, tipping over would be an issue, but I can think of a few ways to solve that one. Then again, if I had a computer the size of a Mac Mini, odds are that I would find a way to mount it in or under the desk if I needed more room. Then again, the thing is about half the size of my Toshiba laptop which makes me think that the OP’s desk is either smaller than a nightstand or extremely cluttered, but if they are worried about the small amount of space it takes up then I am leaning towards them being too neat for it to be clutter.

Anyways, I am blithering. My point is that there are quite a few ways to mount a computer that small securely and without blocking vents, especially if that computer is a Mac Mini.

@jerv The problem with the Mac mini, and this is me going from and iMac to this thing, is the cables. My iMac is in hospice right now and I’m not sure that it will survive. But it was such a clean system. The monitor and cpu, big screen, speakers, everything all of that was great. It didn’t cause and clutter because I used it as my t.v., DVD player, digital video recorder. I got the and because I couldn’t afford to replace the iMac. It may be small but it has a big computer cable mess that supports it. In addition to everything else that’s plugged into it you need to plug a monitor into it, the speakers are weak so you have to plug those in, and with the iMac those cables stream out the back of a large object, with the mac mini it’s like it’s dragging chains. I should and could have come up with a better solution for the tipping over problem but I’m kind of lazy so when it kept falling over I just laid it on it’s side one day and that was that.

@lillycoyote I have never had any issues with cable management or keeping a clutter-free computer station. Maybe it’s just so many years of doing it that made it quik and easy for me.

Yes, there are cables that the iMac lacks, but that is a small price to pay for a computer that has an actual desktop-grade CPU and GPU as opposed to laptop parts and last-gen tech, and the ability to replace a screen (or almost any other part) cheaply and instantly instead of being a depot-level repair, or avoiding a 30–50% price premium. That isn’t anti-Mac; I have the same issues with all-in-one PCs as well. They are also underpowered, overpriced, and impossible to work on.

I think you just figured out another one of the reasons I prefer a tower (like the Mac Pro or most PCs) over tiny things too; I have yet to have my PC moved by the cables.

I just saw this item featured in the Feb. issue of Macworld and it might help your problem.

If you have this issue of the mag, it’s on p. 24.

Or you can find it on the company’s website. It’s called the Mi360 and the company can be found at www.macessity.com

It’s along the lines of Jerv’s suggestion. It’s a rotating small shelf mount which can be placed underneath your desk or even on a wall vertically. I’m trying to picture that but not succeeding. But I’m rather a techno tard so that’s not surprising.

The 360 in the name means that you can spin the bracket around for easier access to all of the ports.

Hopefully that might help.

Since there is a Mac Mini in my future at some point soon, I made a mental note of it.

They didn’t show any cables in the one pic in the mag so I must confess that I don’t completely understand how it works regarding cable clutter but I haven’t really checked it out in detail nor even searched for other reviews on it since it’s new.

If you do decide to get it and find it effective, please drop a note back to let us know. I’ll be very interested in your evaluation of it.

@jerv

”... I have yet to have my PC moved by the cables.”

It never occurred to me until you mentioned it but the Mac Mini gives me a defensive advantage that I don’t think any other computer could: if anyone should ever try to assault me while I’m at the computer, all I have to do is pick up the Mini by it’s cables and swing it violently against my assaulter, his head I think, like a flail and I might have a very good chance of fending him off. I feel very good about that. Thanks for the helpful hint.

@lillycoyote My monitor cable is screwed in pretty right, and I think my twenty-pound tower would hurt more. However, its not as easy to swing…