Crazy experiment squeezes 96 MacBook Pro's into a single server rack

This might sound like a weird, nerdy drinking song: “96 MacBook Pro’s on the Rack, take one off, pass it around...”, yet, a group of tech enthusiasts was actually tasked with finding a solution to connect 96 MacBook Pro laptops to be used as one hysterical-looking server rackspace.

According to “Steve’s Blog”, the author’s team came to the decision of introducing the 96 name brand devices for the purpose of product testing, on condition that the devices be Apple branded.

The blog makes no specific mention on the year of the MacBook Pro laptops used, but the specs were reportedly as follows: Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and Retina display, which suggests perhaps the latest 2015 15 inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, which also features 16GB DDR3L onboard memory.

Considering the cost of each individual laptop nearing $2500, it would be fairly easy to draw a staggering estimate of $240,000 potentially placing this rackspace setup in Guinness World’s Record territory, for World’s biggest MacBook Pro rackspace. By the same token, when it comes to weird experiments with tech, these types of records are known to one-up each other very quickly.

The challenges with stacking that many laptops together, are primarily heat-related, which the team resolved by 3D-printing special shelves designed to hold each laptop’s lid open by 7mm, which also serves the purpose of allowing each laptop to quickly open for troubleshooting and testing purposes.

Each shelf held up to three MacBook Pro laptops, with a decent airflow coming from what seems to be at least a dozen large fans blowing air through the rack.

According to the comments, the team in charge of the experiment used thermal imaging and and airflow modeling to ensure that the setup wouldn’t exceed critical temperatures.

The post author has also revealed possible plans to repeat the experiment using iPhone or iPad devices, and just like the author, we can’t wait to see that happening!