Mac mini mid 2011 board in a PC case

Could you post some pictures of your setup because it sounds to me almost like the setup I already have sitting loose on printer tray under my desk with thin back. also the antenna would not be in the PC case

@nathanlubbers - It’s buried in the back of a closet, and the unit is secured to the wall with some L brackets. I really don’t want to pull it out unless I need to change it which I haven’t in years.

it’s nothing that special, all I did was measure the unit and the drives and there width and depth and number shelves.

Nix the case it is not any better and the metal case will still block the signal. Think how light travels in straight lines that also holds true with radio signals.

@nathanlubbers - Maybe this will help, to control the cables I used zip ties anchored by using these to the wood with screws Saddle Type Zip Tie Anchors there are self adhesive types as well but they tend to fail over time. Between it all I think I spent three hours building the wooden shelf. It’s compact and uncluttered.

OT, This is not a PC, it’s a self contained system onto its self. All you need is a flat surface or in my case I mounted a shelf system I made in the back of a closet to hold the system and the external drives. In my case it’s only a media server not running anything heavy. A PC case is not very practical and will interfere with the wireless connections. An open PC test bench used to test PCI cards won’t be helpful here. Some zip ties is what I used to control the spaghetti cables.

This is reason I asked about putting Mac Mini mid 2011 in a PC case is because I want to remove the logic board from the outer shell I would run them without a case but apple says they need a case to protect them from dust so I do like @oldturkey03 idea of using a PC test bench just to protect from dust

@nathanlubbers It's a totally open area which will decrease the accumulation of dust (at least no more dusty as the rest of your environment ;-) I've run many home computers even A-i-Ones and gutted laptops (no, not just PC's) that never went in a normal case. I've never had one overheat nor have I had a fan failure from to much dust etc. Nor have I had issues with WiFi, BT etc. The test bench is 100% customizable to meet your specific needs. Let your creativity be your guide. Be as Geeky as you wanna be :-)

@nathanlubbers - Have you reviewed the guides at all yet? You are attempting to re-engineer the case and the boards & power supply mountings which are not like a typical PC logic board which mostly follow an agreed upon standard. The volume of the space internally from a dust perspective is a non-issue unless you fully enclose the case, then only the air within it will circulate. But that then messes up the systems cooling as well as anything else in the case which needs cooler air.

Lastly the issue then gets down to your skill set, the risks and costs. It sounds like this is an important set of systems. Are you willing to mess up killing them or make it so you can’t recover back?

@nathanlubbers a testbench open chassis case rack is a perfect choice for this :-) It is not a case, it does not need to be enclosed and has a multitude of mounting positions that essentially can be used for any kind of circuit board (no, not cellphone or MP3 player etc.) It even works for xbox360 boards etc. Been there done that :-)