How much weight can a Mac Mini hold?

If you could support the bottom of the Mini around the metal periphery of the bottom vice the plastic disk it would well support a 22" monitor.

The problem with being supported by the plastic disk with a heavy weight is that if the weight is not evenly distributed, the plastic may cold flow unevenly over time resulting in unequal pressure on the bottom and tilting of what is on top and even it falling off but I doubt it would go that far that fast. The Mini/plastic getting hot would accelerate the cold flow.

The metal part of the 2012 Mini (the one I have) should easily support even a Thunderbolt monitor.

Another problem with putting something on top is that it may attenuate wifi and BT reception. I noticed that when I had may external HD on top on my Mini

hilltrot wrote:

$50+ stands people have been trying to sell me in their responses here.

If the price is what has you concerned you could always try this setup from IKEA, does the job nicely and costs less then 4 bucks.

From the Apple Store:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HC016ZM/A/twelve-south-backpack-3-adjustable-s helf?fnode=3fc7dbccbdcc49a016225dbe509a27d480f16cba7159a606dd5c522e8a6ab9b086de9 1e7f15122c05b58f3dea13eaad412e899c52fa833ea0ce1d5633e86ee8b69457d81e50bfbc83e2f8 967637417b6dd5c51fd4e8f537fb02c2483ec6c9b3617a4d049b22de5fbb0c57624f8932c67

From OWC:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/accessories

hilltrot wrote:

Don't say zero either because that's not true.

But what if that is the official answer? See How to position your Mac mini

All of the user guides for the older minis with optical drives also say to never put anything on top. The newer minis don't have optical drives, that warning message, or any user guides for that matter.

Do the destructive test on one Mini. And then another one should safely be able to hold half that weight.

If you want more of a factor of safety just use 1/4 or less weight.

Not all devices are tested for all possible things that people can do with them so I doubt Apple did such a test.

You say the new Mini is flat and takes up a lot of real estate on a desk;

but it can be set up on its side and run that way indefinitely. There also

have been stacking brackets for when these are used in server farms.

There were no silly answers to your nebulous request for information

that would generally be determined (in fact) by destructive testing at

a facility similar to how other products of durable necessity would be.

However, since nobody is suggesting anyone use these new metal

Minis as building blocks, insider people aren't going to tell if they know.

A limit would be first evidenced by a failure of the removable base plate.

And the port section along the back. Also, the wi-fi antenna in topcase.

In comparison, the new Mini external specs are about half the height and

only a few centimeters wide/deep; the newer (late 2012) that may have

dual hard disk drives inside, would weigh more, too. I have a recent Mini

and also the last model G4 produced. In the same room.

The means of placing the Mini on its side, securely, should resolve some

of the desk-wasting space. There also are third-party adapters to put the

unit on the back of a display, or elsewhere.

If it weren't near 2:30AM, perhaps some time would be dedicated to more

research on this weight question. Other things are weighing on my mind.

Good luck in any event... 🙂

Not sure but my 2012 Mini has a solid case and could probably hold some moderate weight. I have seen people put the monitor on top of the Mini. However I got a vertical stand from OWC and keep my Mini upright to use less desktop space.

Since a similar form-factor for Mini has been in place for nearly 4 years, if one

includes the last model with an optical drive built-in, of unified aluminum case,

the topic of placing objects on top of them has been asked and answers had

been available online. A search can find several across the web; and more

than a few appeared in these ASC discussions.

•examples of similar question, results vary along with wording:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=How+much+weight+can+Mac+Mini+hold

The rounded plastic base, and port section of the back, are not solid billet metal

and so would not sustain as heavy weight. And the actual thickness of those areas

which are machined aluminum are not necessarily super strong.

A tippy-effect can and has been noted, when heavy or tall objects have been

in place on top of a newer aluminum Mini, given the rounded base on those

which have access to the components inside. There had been metal stands

or partial case-like designed supports, that can be set above the Mini which

can support large displays and they disperse weight directly to a table.

The older larger form Mini could be more readily set on its side to save space

without as great an incidence of it falling over. As suggested above and by

me earlier in this thread, the idea to place the unit on its side gains space.

And there are several designs. Some are no longer produced, but available.

Given the newer Mini is about 7x7 inch (not including the rounded base) and

the older series was about 6.5x6.5 inch (& had a square bottom) it would be

a toss-up to consider which could actually hold more static weight. If one

were to place a display or other Minis on top, eventually the pile would tip.

Hopefully you'll have some safe experiences should you try new methods in

stacking weight on top of Minis for fun or profit. An old set of free-weights

and bathroom scale could be used in semi-destructive testing processes... 😝

The location of the wi-fi + BT antennae module in the Late 2012 & more recent

models appears to imply by design the case may also act to aid the antennae;

in my i7 MINI 2.3GHz quad-core Late 2012 model (server w/ dual HDDs) the

antennae is on the bottom next to user-accessible RAM chips. While an object

on top or over the Mini may affect the antennae reception, the small base under

the unit could make such weight on top unstable. A hollow-square under the

outer edge, of durable strong material, could level-off the bottom, to be flat.

While my Mini is used with a 20-inch aluminum Apple Cinema display that does

not weigh ' a lot ' I would not set it on top, even though the foot of this display is

nearly the same size as the top of the 7.7x7.7 x1.4" Mini. Tipping the display

to adjust sight angle, or a minor earthquake of known local magnitude could be

the cause of a tumble. However the idea to use one of these on its side and if

needed make a simple holder with a piece of wood and a few finishing nails

with plastic tubing over them, could suffice to keep the item on edge, cheaply.

However much or little additional funds one has to throw at a solution, or time

taken from other questionable uses of it, solutions do not require much of either.

There had also been a method suggested on how to mount these on a wall, or

use industrial velcro to assist a home-made bracket & hold a Mini elsewhere.

In any event...

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

For those who land here and are looking for space saving ideas, this is one I was considering --

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/NUSTALYMINI/

I have never seen that and I doubt that Apple ever gave a value. Good luck in finding a definite/correct value

There's only one way to find out. Pile more and more weight onto it until it's squashed.