Can I place my computer horizontally instead of vertically?

[Chris_TQN]

I received my workstation HP Z4 G5. It is a vertical tower.

Can I stand the pc in a horizontal position? 

 - Will it still work properly? 
- Is there any affect to any hardware operation when i put it like that ?
- is the cooling system inside the case is still work well ?

Thanks in advance!
Chris.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Chapter 3, page 10 of the service manual provides the operating guidelines.

Maintenance and Service Guide (hp.com)

There does not seem to be any restriction regarding placing the PC horizontally as long as you do not block any vents.

[SDH]

Agree fully with Paul. If it was not OK to run it horizontally HP would have said so. I run them that way a lot when we're building up a new "gold master" to clone from with never an issue.

Interesting note: I was recently reading about a new Sunon fan family released using their excellent "MagLev" bearing and the article spoke of a downside that Sunon documents. Those fans are meant to be run vertically, not horizontally. Kind of makes sense when you think about how such bearings work. HP does not use those. LINK 

I've seen posts here where the person takes the side cover off to "get better ventilation". As Paul's page in the Z4 G4 manual implies that hurts rather than helps... HP engineered best cooling airflow to happen with that side cover on.