Stacking Consoles: Good Idea?

[RetroRich]

so i don't have too much room and am trying to condense space by stacking consoles. I plan on trying to place the xbox 360 on top of the ps3 slim. Anyone ever done this? Does the ps3's curved top make it hard for the 360 to sit properly?
I would do ps3 on top of the 360, but then the ps3 would be blocking the vents on the top of the 360.

[Polygon]

The 360 would be very unstable on top of the PS3. I wouldn't stack either on top of each other.

[G-Boobie]

so i don't have too much room and am trying to condense space by stacking consoles. I plan on trying to place the xbox 360 on top of the ps3 slim. Anyone ever done this?

I'm trying to imagine the living situation that has you so confused and desperate that the only solution to your space problem is stacking your heat sensitive, non-lead-soldered current generation consoles on top of each other. In my head, you were living in a dark, ancient house filled with forbidden books and priceless scrolls. But who are we kidding, here: if your plan to 'save space' is to stack consoles on top of one another, those aren't going to be books or scrolls taking up your space. Instead, I'm betting on pizza boxes and cat litter.

My favorite part is right here:


I plan on trying to place the xbox 360 on top of the ps3 slim. Anyone ever done this?

Just a heads up: assuming you haven't lost one of the consoles in the pizza boxes and cat litter, you can go ahead and try this RIGHT NOW. You don't need a PLAN. You don't need to hire sherpas, or take out insurance. I think what you'll find, after you finish locating the consoles and pay the sherpas and insurance premiums and so on, is that these things don't stack very well, because they are all curvy and designed and so on, and don't listen to what your sherpa says. He doesn't know shit about stacking things.

It turns out the PS3 and 360 are not pizza boxes. They stack badly. If you'd done this stupid thing yourself, which would have taken literally seconds even if you'd hired sherpas, you would have seen the results and saved everyone a bunch of trouble and time.


I would do ps3 on top of the 360, but then the ps3 would be blocking the vents on the top of the 360.

Do not do this thing either.

Here's what you do, because this is obviously one of those sort of half thought out posts that everyone regrets later: You stack the consoles on pizza boxes. You do this instead of the retarded thing you were talking about earlier because there are several obvious things that heat-generating, optical disc spinning media center consoles hate, and one of them is not being more or less level, and another one is fucking heat.

You know what you do? TURN THE CONSOLES SO THEY ARE VERTICAL. This is the best solution for you, unless you throw out some boxes or cat litter. They are at least designed to operate that way, you'll save space for more pizza boxes, and they'll likely be more level, and they won't fall off of each other into the sea of cat litter, and they won't be spewing heat into each other.

[RP2A03]

You know what you do? TURN THE CONSOLES SO THEY ARE VERTICAL. This is the best solution for you, unless you throw out some boxes or cat litter. They are at least designed to operate that way, you'll save space for more pizza boxes, and they'll likely be more level, and they won't fall off of each other into the sea of cat litter, and they won't be spewing heat into each other.

I can't speak about the PS3, but for the XB360 I believe this to be suboptimal for the lifespan of the console as it does not dissipate heat as efficiently when it is vertical.

[.Singe]

Forgive G-Boobie, he's the trolliest troll that ever trolled a troll.

Although pizza boxes are your best bet.

[Edmond Dantes]

Does the ps3's curved top make it hard for the 360 to sit properly?

No, of course not. What would ever give you such a silly idea?

[crazyjackcsa]

I find the best thing to do is hang them. Don't think of it as stacking on top of each other, it's actually hanging one underneath the other.

You do need a plan though. It needs to be well laid out with diagrams, exact measurements and if possible, funding sources. Contact your local government office, there are also rebates and kickbacks for the the construction you have planned. you may be able to hire people to help and get the government to cover labour costs.

At the very least you could open up your place as a tourist attraction. "Come see the Xbox sitting on top of the PS3! 42nd wonder of the world!"

Or what you could do is take them out of their cases, that should save some room, and keep things cooler too!

By the way, if you do manage to "Condense Space" let me know, I think there are some scientists that would love to know how to do this, It may involve a black hole though, and if that's the case, you'll have tonnes of room.

[CelticJobber]

I can't speak about the PS3, but for the XB360 I believe this to be suboptimal for the lifespan of the console as it does not dissipate heat as efficiently when it is vertical.

I think it's better for the PS3 to be in the vertical position, atleast that's what I've heard for the older models.

[Nebagram]

I think it's better for the PS3 to be in the vertical position, atleast that's what I've heard for the older models.

Really? This is news to me. What pisses me off about having the PS3 (or the fat PS2 for that matter) vertical is that the disc comes out on the left-hand side of it so if you're right-handed you either have to contort yourself into weird shapes or suddenly become ambidextrous in order to fish the discs out. Weird design choice from a country where the vast majority of people (>99%) are right-handed.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

if you were really serious about saving room and dissipating heat, you'd knock out a support structure behind the tv and build them straight into the wall then reseal it with contact cement or primer or someshit, heat no longer becomes an issue, in fact quite the opposite, as it helps insulate your house during these harsh winter times, with the money you save on heating costs both systems should pretty much pay themselves off within a few years!

[Oobgarm]

I've been concerned about post quality in this forum for a while now, the replies in this thread have helped allay my fears. Well done.

[The Shawn]

Don't listen to the haters op. You stack those fuckers!

Also, if you plan on hooking up a sega cd unit make sure it goes on top and is plugged into the same power strip as the 360 ans PS3.

I await a photo...

[G-Boobie]

I can't speak about the PS3, but for the XB360 I believe this to be suboptimal for the lifespan of the console as it does not dissipate heat as efficiently when it is vertical.

Oh really? I stand corrected, then. OP, stack those fuckers. That's clearly a much better solution, since running your consoles vertically is "suboptimal for the(ir) lifespan". I guess the sherpas were right.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

its unfortunate that you dont have a wii, because i was just about to suggest the ultimate space saving alignment, right...the wii right...and the xbox, ps3, they all have intake and exhaust ports, so what i was going to propose, was that you stack them laterally across your floor and stitch them ass to mouth, ass to mouth, that way you harness their true fucking energy saving potential


the wii does the breathing , when it inhales it exhales hot air into the ps3's mouth, this hot air mixes with the already hot air inside the ps3's belly and a rapid expansion of gasses occurs wherein its all forceably expelled into the fucking xbox 360's hungrily waiting mouth, then with its vastly superior fans, some centrifugal magic or some such occurs and its allllllllllllllll released harmlessly into the atmosphere, for the gods to breathe on their magic clouds


ikea & centipede have shown us the way, now the question is, are you a bad enough dude to save room?

[Sunnyvale]

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n629/ConneticutLeatherCompany/gkids-23.jpg

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Really? This is news to me. What pisses me off about having the PS3 (or the fat PS2 for that matter) vertical is that the disc comes out on the left-hand side of it so if you're right-handed you either have to contort yourself into weird shapes or suddenly become ambidextrous in order to fish the discs out. Weird design choice from a country where the vast majority of people (>99%) are right-handed.

If you can't manage to take a disk out of a fat PS2 or a PS3 while it is vertical using your left hand then please don't try anything that really requires skill.

[Rickstilwell1]

I highly doubt that you don't actually have space. Things can always be rearranged to accomodate for more. Otherwise you oughtta just get some cardbboard boxes and pack away a bunch of stuff that just sets and collects dust, like books, papers, and other junk. Is there really anybody who doesn't own a bookshelf of some sort?

[Nebagram]

If you can't manage to take a disk out of a fat PS2 or a PS3 while it is vertical using your left hand then please don't try anything that really requires skill.

Hence why I became ambidextrous.

[Aussie2B]

I sometimes stack systems when it's logical to do so. For example, I have my US PS1 on top of my Japanese PS2. But stacking system that aren't flat, have vents that would be blocked, or are prone to overheating... err, no.

[RetroRich]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

[jcalder8]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

Well even though I am an asshole since I'm on Digital Press here is my advise.

Why not just place one or both in from of the tv? Or buy a small table to stick between the desk and tv stand and put one there?

[cynicalhat]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

You cant figure this out? You sir, suck at Tetris.

Take the DVDs or whatever cases are on the side open ends of the TV stand and put the where the xbox is. Put the Xbox vertically oriented on the right side so it can vent away from the unit. Put the Ps3 on the opposite open end. Done.

And that Xbox 1 is going to die a terrible death in that enclosed space. Get the 360 out of that enclosed space, fan shoots the hot air up and keeps it in that enclosure and sucks it up again on its left side.

While you are at it, take the factory stickers off the TV. Looks ridiculous like when people don't take the wrist strain warnings off keyboards.

[Edmond Dantes]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

Dude, please. You ought to see my room sometime. It's like half the size of that one.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with your current setup, but you're probably gonna have to live with just hooking up the one system (per television... there's a luxury I don't have) that you're actually playing. So if you wanna safely hook up a PS3 you'll have to simply unhook the X-Box 360 and put it away for awhile.

You might POSSIBLY be able to sit the PS3 directly in front of that big flatscreen you have there, depending on which model you have and if you don't mind the aesthetics. Or else hollow out the drawer below the 360 and put the PS3 there, but that means giving up a drawer, which you might be using for all I know.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what to tell you.

[Polygon]

After seeing the picture I can tell you that I would do what Edmond suggested if I were in your situation.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.


Don't worry, there is always room for one more. :wink:

I would second what Edmond said about removing the drawer.

[G-Boobie]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

Well, one redeeming quality that assholes have (which is often mistaken by mild mannered idiots as a vice) is calling it exactly as they see it.

No, I cannot see why someone would want to stack their consoles in that picture. Use that Feng Shui! Reconfigure! Be better!

Jimmy and Edmond are correct.

[The Shawn]

Before you stack, make sure you wrap them in R-19 insulation.

[Gameguy]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg
If you think that's not a lot of space then you must be very well off, you have a ton of space if you can fit 2 TVs(one widescreen) with entertainment cabinets, a computer cabinet with desktop computer, a full size keyboard, and a bed.

You should get a plastic mat for the office chair so you won't ruin the carpet.


And that Xbox 1 is going to die a terrible death in that enclosed space. Get the 360 out of that enclosed space, fan shoots the hot air up and keeps it in that enclosure and sucks it up again on its left side.
If that's not enough space for these things to run then they're not designed for normal use, I'm sorry but that's plenty of space to leave around electronics to run properly.

[RP2A03]

As Edmond Dantes said, you'll probably have to make do with having one console hooked up at a time. The only possible way around this would be to find a way to use your space more efficiently. I would start with looking at how you are utilizing your vertical space, as your picture hints that you are not using it that well. Also, be prepared to build some shelves yourself, or be "creative" with what you can find.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.

anyways, if you guys really want to see what i'm dealing with in terms of space, here ya go. You can see why i'd want to stack the ps3 and 360.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8471/img0445sn.jpg

There are always some sitting patiently, waiting for the opportunity. (This is the internet you know.)

In fairness to those who were swinging at a bit of a softball pitch, your initial post was borderline farcical. I was going to post a squinting Philip J. Fry "not sure if serious" gif myself, but thought better of it once the dogpile started.

If you had shared the photo of the room and been more detailed/specific with your thought process, or just asked for suggestions on how to arrange your consoles in that space you probably wouldn't have attracted those looking to lay bricks in an asshole comedy-pyramid.

Don't let the asholes discourage you. If I had, I probably wouldn't have lasted a week.

[Leo_A]

I always heard "digital press is filled with assholes" but never believed it. Now i do.


You're bringing it upon yourself, in my opinion.

[G-Boobie]

Frankie's right, OP. I've been 'dog piling' him for years now, and I like him just fine.

I was right, though: this is definitely one of those half thought out threads that everyone regrets later. ;)

[kupomogli]

Why not just place one or both in from of the tv? Or buy a small table to stick between the desk and tv stand and put one there?

I think this would work. I'm not sure what side the fan openings are on the 360, but the fat PS3 has them on the right(assuming the same for the slim.) By putting your PS3 on the right side, whether it's by keeping your tv where it is or moving it to the left a bit, the PS3 fan openings shouldn't be closed. Doing this your tv won't be centered where it's at, but there will be enough room to keep both your consoles hooked up by doing so. Assuming you keep the 360 where it's at.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Forgive G-Boobie, he's the trolliest troll that ever trolled a troll.

Although pizza boxes are your best bet.

I encourage feeding that specific troll.

The tower of pizza boxes has to go before you play console Tetris. -- Sun Tzu

[duffmanth]

Please don't stack your consoles on top of each other.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Frankie's right, OP. I've been 'dog piling' him for years now, and I like him just fine.


I recon it's a bit of Stockholm syndrome, but I love you too. ;)

[Lady Jaye]

Another thing to avoid, regardless of the console generation or of type of device (aside from a lamp) is to plug your electronics into a power outlet linked to a dimmer. That's a mistake I did several years ago with my old SNES and it was a really bad idea, as it fried the SNES' power supply.

[MachineGex]

They sell those VCR shelfs. They are just a small shelf that lets the VCR fit under an old-style TV. It has 4 legs and a shelf on top, the whole thing is about six inches tall and a few feet(if that) wide. Buy two of them and put the TV on top of them(putting the shelves side by side). Then put the systems under the TV.

or get something like this:
http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?prodId=145665
or
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-37697109791737_2193_28983694
or
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/333570.html
or this page has several good ideas:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/333570.html

[FoxNtd]

After having seen that photo, I had an idea. What if you remove those two stacks of cases (one of which has Goldeneye on top of it) and use those vertical spaces for each console, and just put all those cases into the center space where that second model 360 currently is placed? :|

[Lady Jaye]

That suggestion was already made in that thread, but it is probably the easiest solution that wouldn't end up killing either console.

[FoxNtd]

That suggestion was already made in that thread, but it is probably the easiest solution that wouldn't end up killing either console.

Oh, I thought I had read through everything, too.. :(

Yeah the separation of the units is the best part of it.

[RetroRich]

can the ps3 slim be stacked vertically without the extra stand?

[The Shawn]

I must contain myself...

[Rickstilwell1]

I say just put 'em both horizontal on the TV stand in front of the screen like I do. They are not tall enough to block any of the screen.

[NayusDante]

The PS3 slim should fit on the side of the TV, laying flat and pushed back a bit. Not exactly symmetry, but it might be the only solution that involves both of them laying flat. Depending on your TV, the 360 may fit under a side of the TV as well, but with heat going up it might not be great for the LCD.

[rlemmon]

Hi retroditch. I have a similar space issue. what i did was find a cheap partical board stand at walmart. It's only slightly wider than the ps3 Its not the best looking thing but it holds my wii,ps3 and ps2. I used some 3m double sided foam tape to add a cheap av selector to the inside of it so i can have all three systems hooked up because my tv only has one set of av jacks.

I doubt you'll be able to find a stand just like it but if your handy it would be easy to build. Whatever you do just be sure your consoles get lots of air.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9855/standm.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/standm.png/)
http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4795/70444181.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/848/70444181.jpg/)

[cynicalhat]

If you think that's not a lot of space then you must be very well off, you have a ton of space if you can fit 2 TVs(one widescreen) with entertainment cabinets, a computer cabinet with desktop computer, a full size keyboard, and a bed.

You should get a plastic mat for the office chair so you won't ruin the carpet.


If that's not enough space for these things to run then they're not designed for normal use, I'm sorry but that's plenty of space to leave around electronics to run properly.

The vents on the xbox 1 are on the sides. looks to be about a quarter inch on each side of that console. I know the xbox 1 vents on the rear, but, let it breathe. I overheated my 360 slim the second night in a situation similar to his, admittedly it did sit next to my receiver. Now it sits outside of the cabinet on the box it came in. I stand by my affirmation that the newer consoles especially the 360 (no matter the variant) needs to breathe. The ps3 slim could get away with that 360 positioning, but i wouldn't trust the 360 there.

[AceAerosmith]

You do what you want, OP. If you stack them, I'd recommend a nice tube of construction adhesive. A half-inch bead across the top of the PS3 and set that 360 right down. Let it cure for a while before you move them though. And use a strong set of sliding vice clamps to hold them together until the adhesive sets.

Construction adhesive: that shit'll bond anything! ( Copyright 2011 Bonding Shit Enterprises All rights reserved.)

[NayusDante]

You do what you want, OP. If you stack them, I'd recommend a nice tube of construction adhesive. A half-inch bead across the top of the PS3 and set that 360 right down. Let it cure for a while before you move them though. And use a strong set of sliding vice clamps to hold them together until the adhesive sets.

Construction adhesive: that shit'll bond anything! ( Copyright 2011 Bonding Shit Enterprises All rights reserved.)

Would attaching a PS3 to your 360's case void your warranty? Sounds like an unauthorized modification to me...

[kupomogli]

Regardless if you didn't have room you still don't want to stack anything. The consoles are made to be on flat surfaces. You have a console that isn't on a flat surface and every game you play from then on could get eaten up, etc. There's always the possibility.

[Gameguy]

The vents on the xbox 1 are on the sides. looks to be about a quarter inch on each side of that console. I know the xbox 1 vents on the rear, but, let it breathe. I overheated my 360 slim the second night in a situation similar to his, admittedly it did sit next to my receiver. Now it sits outside of the cabinet on the box it came in. I stand by my affirmation that the newer consoles especially the 360 (no matter the variant) needs to breathe. The ps3 slim could get away with that 360 positioning, but i wouldn't trust the 360 there.
I stand by my statement, they're not designed for normal use then. Keeping a video game console in an entertainment cabinet is pretty normal in 2012 and has been for several years, it's not the late 70's or early 80's where everyone kept their one console on the coffee table in front of them. There's at least an inch of space on both sides of the Xbox 1, that should be enough space for it to work properly. There's tons of space around the 360, if it will still overheat with that much space I wouldn't trust it to last no matter where it's kept.

[BlastProcessing402]

Stacking a 360 on top of a PS3 would be problematic (stacking anything on top of a PS3 is problematic, thanks curvy mccurves a lot) but the other way around works pretty well, at least with older 360's, I dunno about slim 360's. My PS3 is a slim, so in that case dunno about original.

Anyway, yeah, heat whatever, the main vent on the 360 isn't on the top, it's on the right side. This is why setting it vertically is incredibly stupid, as it's then covering the main entrance for airflow. The top vent holes seem to be mostly cosmetic, but you can arrange the PS3 not to really cover them anyway.

And the PS3 (slim) doesn't have any vents on the bottom, so it's not going to suffer, but just in case, you can use some sort of spacer in between. For a while I used a laptop chill pad, but I moved that to my DVR because it was running warm, and now I use some rubber "feet" that came with a computer tower that I never bothered to attach since the tower sits on carpet anyway. They're maybe .75" thick and leave plenty of room between the two for airflow.

In addition, my 360 fans are cranked up, and I have a small USB powered fan that I point at whatever system is running at the time as well to make sure they get plenty of fresh air.

I should mention under my PS3 and 360 sits my original Xbox. It's slightly curved, sure, but no so much the 360 doesn't fit nicely.

I used to also have a PS2 (old model) and NES (toaster) under the Xbox, and a broken DVD player between the Xbox and 360 (It just made for a nice platform) then a working DVD player between the 360 and PS3 (though sometimes the Wii was there instead of the PS3, now it sits to the side since I got rid of the old inkjet printer that was taking up a lot of space) but I moved stuff around a lot recently.

I really don't have any options besides stacking. My space is what it is, and these are systems I use too frequently to be always futzing around with taking them down and putting them someplace else when I want to use another system.