Hey Lemmy, I need some recommendations for a CPU-intensive slightly mobile rig. I run a lot of engineering simulations and I need a computer that I can move between my home and work on a semi-frequent basis. I'm looking for something more powerful than a laptop and I'll have monitors/peripherals at both locations. Maybe a mini-ITX in an HTPC style case? The sims don't really make use of GPU, so integrated graphics is just fine. They multi-thread a bit, but there are still single-core bottlenecks in the process, so highest single-core performance is probably pretty important. It's also got to handle 128GB of DDR5 and a M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
A lot of the faster CPUs seem to need some serious cooling (100W+ TDP!) and I'd rather not have a jet engine roaring constantly since this thing will be sitting right on the desk next to me eating 100% CPU most of the time. Are there small form factor cases that can support water cooling? When Intel says a CPU has a processor base power of 125W, but a Max Turbo Power of 253W, does that imply that the 253W can't be sustained even with enough cooling?
Have you considered leaving a big beefy one at work and accessing it remotely from home?
Yes! I've even tried it, but the issue I ran into was that my Starlink home connection is... spotty (I really need to move dishy up higher to get fewer obstructions). This results in network dropouts every couple of minutes which is suuuuper frustrating when you're doing 3D modeling work. Also, working over a remote connection seemed pretty clunky at times with the 3D model manipulation, def not as smooth as local.
There are a couple people in my company that work that way and it works for them.
The laptop might be the most portable solution.
You might even consider just buying two PCs and using something to sync the work between them. Modern file sync programs are pretty good. I'd recommend checking to see if your modeling program has an officially supported one first.