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I recently purchased a standing desk and attached a top from Ikea that has a particle board core.

I've ran into the issue where cable management is really annoying when my desk goes up and down so I want to mount my PC to the bottom of the particle board. However, I'm really unsure if the particle board can hold the weight of my pc.

I am planning to use this as a mount.

My PC should weigh no more than 15kg (33lbs) but it might be a little more.

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  • It is about 30 kilo, really heavy to be fair.
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 10, 2020 at 10:17
  • I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean. The top of my desk is a kitchen countertop from Ikea (30kg)and I didn't use any kits to put it together. All I did was attach the ikea top to standing desk legs from another company.
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 10, 2020 at 17:49
  • Okay sorry, I thought the whole standing desk was Ikea. Must've been projecting; my computer desk is Ikea. Commented Dec 10, 2020 at 18:46

5 Answers 5

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Are you certain the entire surface is solid? I've got an IKEA desktop, and it's got solid wood around the edges, but the center is a hollow-core/cardboard honeycomb type of construction. The wood in mine (probably particle board) extends in about 2" (~5cm) but then the rest is that hollow-core construction. Tapping on the desktop with a knuckle makes a distinctly "solid" sound near the edges, and a "hollow" sound anywhere else. With my desktop, there is NO WAY I'd be able to support 15Kg from the bottom of it. If yours is hollow anywhere, it won't either!

I also purchased a sit/stand desk leg setup from IKEA, but the top I purchased wasn't "officially" supposed to go with it. I was able to attach the legs to the wood in the top, but I've attached nothing in the center.

To accommodate the movement, I've got my tower CPU sitting on the floor next to the desk and long USB & video cables (10' IIRC - my CPU isn't right next to the desk) running to the desktop. Along the bottom edge of the desk, I installed some cup hooks along the edge into the solid wood for cable management, and I've got the cables run to the side of the desk where they drop down to the floor. When the desk is lowered to the sitting position, I've got a bit of a tangle of video cables, but I've got enough slack that I can raise it to a standing position without pulling on anything.

I looked long and hard to find a power strip with a long cord and with mounting slots on the back near the edge (not down the middle). I used the mounting slots to put it on screws at the edge of the desktop (into the solid wood), then all the monitors & other desktop accessories plug into the power strip with cords neatly bundled up under the desk. Then I've got the one power cord running to the ground where it plugs into the UPS. The cord is long enough to accommodate the vertical movement, as well.

At some point, I'll add another hook to hold the cables to the table bottom, then put a weight on each cable between the last two hooks. This will force the cables to be in a "droop" between these two hooks, yet allow it to slide as I raise the desktop. This should tidy up the rat's nest of cable while still allowing them to move. I just haven't been motivated enough to mess with it yet. :)

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  • Thanks for this detailed reply FreeMan! I believe the surface is made of a smaller layer of solid wood and the rest is particleboard (MDF according to a few Reddit threads). It is actually meant to be used as a kitchen counter top, but I use it as a desk. I'm a little unsure how to answer the question, isn't particle board a bit hollow as well? Looking at the description in Ikea it says the main source is particleboard as well. Yeah I thought about long cables as well, but it's a lot more convenient to be able to use the USB hubs at the front of my pc as well for example!
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 13:56
  • Correction: It's not MDF, but it is particleboard!
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 14:02
  • @Daniel particleboard and MDF are effectively the same. No, MDF will not sound hollow when you knock on it - it is a solid material, unless it's just MDF banding around the edges and hollow core in the middle.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 15:32
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I don't think it would be an issue. Just make sure to pre drill holes the correct size and use screws with a coarse thread. Make sure the screws don't penetrate the other side as well.

I mounted a computer on the side of a similar desk with multiple Command™ strips once. It was fine structurally.

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  • Thank you so much for the quick response, I appreciate it a lot. I have previously pre-drilled holes in the desk that were about 1/3th of the size of the screw and then added the screw, would that be a correct size? And you foresee no issues with about 20kg of weight hanging on the table (on one side)?
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 12:56
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    How many screws mount into the wood? Getting the right size of pre drilled hole is going to be important for this type of material. I normally hold drill bits in front of the bits. You want the bit to be slightly smaller than the screw, without the threads. You might be able to find references online about how much holding force each screw can hold in that material.
    – Evil Elf
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 13:30
  • About 6 screws. All right, thanks a lot for the replies! I'll have to find a slightly bigger bit then.
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 13:40
  • This will start coming loose in 1-2 months and tear up the entire desk after it does.
    – DMoore
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 19:16
  • Much of this is based on the density/quality of the boards to be honest.
    – Evil Elf
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 21:40
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I agree with the other answers, most like, this will be fine, as long as you use the correct screws, pre-drill, etc. If you want to give this setup some extra support though, I would suggest you go get yourself a piece of plywood about that would cover the whole mounting area of the computer attachment, screws that are just short of the thickness of plywood+thickness of your desk, and some construction adhesive.

Lay a good bead of the construction adhesive on the back of the plywood and put it up under the desk, now screw in place with one screw, and then you can comfortably pre-drill the other spots and put some more screws in. Now you have a known, solid surface that is mounted pretty sturdily to the underside of your desk, and it will probably be easier to attach your computer to the plywood without so much risk of stripping holes in the particleboard.

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I have nearly this exact set up, with a very similar computer tower mount and a 3/4" particle board desk top. It's very solid and has stood up to many knee bangings as well.

Be sure to use larger diameter screws w/ coarse threads. I used #10 x 3/4" pan head screws Though the screw length is the same as the particle board thickness they don't stick through because of the thickness of the metal mounting plate. 5/8" screws would be too short and may not hold as well.

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  • Really appreciate the reply, thank you. How heavy is your computer if I may ask?
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 10, 2020 at 10:19
  • I'm not sure but on the heavier side, I have several hard drives in a full tower. And I have no concern that the bracket is going to fail, it's rock solid
    – Ack
    Commented Dec 11, 2020 at 3:31
  • Thanks a lot. This eased my mind. Did your mount also require 6 screws? Seems as the screws that came with my mount are 3/4" but a little thin, more like #7 or 8 (not sure if I'm getting these American standards right).
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 11, 2020 at 11:48
  • Standards are correct, by size by number with larger number = larger screw. #6 seems too small for a good connection. Mine are #10 and course threaded. Still 3/4" length. The bigger screw size and course threads gives a good 'bite' into the particle board which is important.
    – Ack
    Commented Dec 11, 2020 at 17:31
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You have some answers that are pretty off. That computer is heavy. No F'ing way you can screw that to the bottom of a moving desk.

But you can bolt it using a nut and cap. If you get exactly the right size you could predrill a space for your nut to sit below the surface at the top and then cover that.

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  • Thanks for your answer. I'm a little lost now, getting different advice from everywhere and not sure what to do. I already ordered the mount as well. I'm an absolute amateur when it comes to these things so not really sure what you mean, wouldn't this stick out at the top of the desk?
    – Daniel
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 23:56

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