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?
I was about to suggest the top of the line Apple Mac M3 Ultra and a Thunderbolt to NVME dongle, but it’s only got 48 GB of combined RAM and on top of that if your softwares don’t run on macOS It’ll be a waste of time and money.
What about the MNT reform?
https://shop.mntre.com/products/mnt-reform
You could play around and find out if this will satisfy your needs
The mount reform has a very weak ARM CPU and 32 GB RAM at most, it's a terrible option for simulations.