Should you put your PC on a desk or on the ground? Its a debate as old as time. If you have the luxury of both options, then this is a choice youll inevitably need to make.

Contents The floorThe deskFloor vs. desk But let me lay my cards down first. I like my PC on the floor. You heard me right, and Im not ashamed of it either.

Before you send me an email, though, let me say that my point isnt to convince you Im right. Instead, I will weigh the pros and cons and make a case for both scenarios to help you make the right choice for yourself.

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　　The floor

Stick that ugly black box where it belongs. Maybe no need to be quite so mean, but lets face it: your PC is a tool. Thats my perspective, at least.

Its a box of electronics that helps you work and maybe play, but do you need to look at your Blu-ray player to watch a UHD movie? Do you need to have your smartphones RGB lighting shining into your eyes while youre trying to get some work done?

If theres one thing a PC doesnt need, its to be shown off. It is a functional piece of equipment that does the job just the same if its tucked away in a desk or under one.

Well, thats not strictly true. It stands a greater chance of overheating if it doesnt have ready access to cool air, and if youre putting it on a rug or carpet, it will almost certainly collect dust in its filters far quicker, exacerbating the overheating issue.

Itll be quieter, though. At least until you forget to clean it, and the dust filters become clogged. But you get a lot more desk space with your PC tucked under there, out of sight. That also means fewer cables to tidy awayor deal with spaghettifying your space.

You dont need to be concerned with the safety of a floor-mounted PC, either. Its much less likely to be bumped or knocked over. Really, unless someone is looking to practice their calf kicks in the office, youre PCs structural integrity is unlikely to be questioned.

That goes out the window with pets and young children, though. I fitted a toggle switch cover to my PCs power button when mine were toddling about hitting and eating everything that I held dear. A floor PC also means youll need to bend down and even get under your desk to change accessories and peripherals, which is fine if your back is fine, but not all of us are that lucky.

When it comes down to it, though, I keep my PC on the floor for two primary reasons: noise and desk space. Desktop PCs are both loud and large and keeping them on the floor is my solution to both of those problems. Thats just not something Im willing to compromise on.

　　The desk

Whoa, whoa there. That was a lot of hate for the humble, respectable, awe inspiring world that a desktop PC opens up for an intrepid professional or gamer. Its a wondrous thing that youve poured hours into choosing the right components, the perfect processor, and the most cutting-edge graphics card. Its your baby, and like any flesh and blood offspring, this collection of curated components deserves to sit in pride of place in your home or office. Or home office. Or The Home Office.

Theres an argument to be made that understated PC designs with blacked-out interiors, subdued lighting, or a stealth aesthetic might be better suited to being mounted on the floor, but if you want people to see it if you want to see more of your pride and joy putting it on your desk is the only way to go. And who cares about the lost space? What were you doing with it anyway?

You might even get a performance advantage out of that vanity, too. A PC mounted on a desk almost certainly has fewer impediments to its airflow than a PC placed on the floor, and its fans are less likely to pull in dust and debris from the floor itself, meaning you should need to clean the dust filters less frequently.

Fan noise and any coil whine will be more pronounced, though. Not only are the PC and its noise-making components closer to your ear(s), but you dont have the physical buffer of your desk to dampen any noises further. Depending on the design, material, and thickness of your desk, that can make quite a sizable difference.

Still, thats nothing a fan controller and headphones cant fix.

Having your PC up on your desk also means you get it away from sticky childrens fingers and pet hair, which is definitely a recipe for better PC longevity. The only downside is that you then have to trust the older children and adults in your life not to knock it over and spill a drink on it. That probably wont happen, but I cant stress enough how much you do not want this to happen. So, make sure it cant.

　　Floor vs. desk

Despite my best efforts to split my personality in two and make an even case for both, Im going to leave my PC on the floor. Ive had many PCs on my desk over the years, but today I value the negative space and lower noise levels more than my LED lightshows of yester-PCs.

I would do it again, though. If I get the bug to build something beautiful in the future, I might even wall-mount it to get the best of both worlds. Either is fine, though and as long as you know the particulars of floor and desk mounting, you can have an equally great experience. Each just has its own eccentricities to consider.