Advice on PC builds or Mac Mini

Rhino Windows Hardware
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Hi everyone, I am looking at upgrading my system as I have been using my 2021 MacBook Pro for a while now for Rhino. Now that my work consists of heavy rhino drafting and rendering, I think I have to update my system pretty soon. Although my laptop still runs pretty strong and might crash once in a blue moon when I try to open a large file, I am confused on what system / set-up is going to be a good next step for me.

From what I can see, and from advice from others, a PC is probably the way to go. But I get quite lost when it comes to tech specs and what is necessary and what it is not.

I have looked at Mac Mini’s and upgrading some of the unified memory and storage, but not too sure if the CPU is high enough to be a reliable system over time. I have also been looking at the build below, so any advice / tips / or info on the elements would be amazing.

  • Deepcool CF120 PLUS 120mm A-RGB
  • Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-bit OEM DVD
  • Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD - MZ-V9P2T0BW
  • Deepcool Assassin IV CPU Air Cooler
  • Intel Core i9 14900K 24 Core 32. Thread up to 6GHz LGA 1700 Unlocked
  • Thermaltake Toughpower GT 850W. 80+ Gold PCIe Gen 5.1 ATX 3.1 Fully Modular Power Supply
  • Corsair Vengeance RGB 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR5 5600MHz C40 Desktop
  • Inno3D GeForce RTX 5060 Ti TWIN X2 16GB Video Card
  • Gigabyte B760M GAMING WIFI6 PLUS GEN5 Micro-ATX Motherboard
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I don’t follow this!

My understanding is that - other things equal - the higher the clock-speed, the hotter the CPU.

The hotter the CPU runs, the greater the chance of thermal-throttling (a forced reduction in speed) and/or the more wear through thermal cycling (repeated heating-up and cooling-down). None of which helps reliability over time.

I run Rhino on Mac Minis, one of which runs the PC version of Rhino on BootCamp (Windows 10). I’m content running Windows 10 Pro on a 2018 Mac Mini (i7). I would not choose to run Rhino on Windows 11 due to that OS’s privacy issues.

Unusually, one of my Mac Minis contains an i9 CPU (the i9-9980HK). In the course of researching Intel’s Core i9, ChatGPT produced the following that may be relevant:

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4. Best Intel CPUs specifically for Rhino / CAD longevity

[for] 3D modelling & product design, these are excellent choices:

:white_check_mark: Safest picks

  • i7-6700 / 7700 (non-K)
  • i7-10700
  • i9-10900
  • i7-12700 (power-limited)

:cross_mark: Avoid for longevity

  • i9-13900K / 14900K
  • i7-13700K

5. If you want a one-line rule

Choose Intel CPUs from mature process nodes, non-K models, moderate clocks, and avoid motherboard “auto-overclocking”.

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