Ideal NUC config for Roon Core (headless)

With the impending headless Roon release, may I ask what will be an ideal config for an Intel-based NUC:

  1. CPU
  2. Memory
  3. Harddisk: is SSD preferred?
  4. Ethernet/Wifi

Itā€™s out thereā€¦ search the forum.

something like core i3, 8GB ram, SSD for OS, ethernet, and attached storage based on your requirements.

Iā€™d use an i5, 8gb, 250 gb hard drive ssd, gigabyte ethernet. Iā€™d go with the gigabyte i5 Brix, just add memory, SSD and youā€™re done.

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250 db hard drive ssd

Thatā€™s a pretty loud ssd youā€™ve got there Rugby ! :smile:

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I wouldnā€™t expect the hard disk speed to matter much, if the storage otherwise comes off the net (e.g. from a NAS), but it would be interesting to hear what the Roon guys say about that.

I would always go for Ethernet unless it is something you carry around with you. (You shouldnā€™t want to carry the core. :smile:)

As for CPU and recommended amount of RAM (apart from ā€œas much as possibleā€), Iā€™d be all ears, too.

I guess the CPU is central for trying to stay fanless? Although, my NAS isnā€™t completely silent either, and these would be in the same spotā€¦

I agree with you on the CPU and RAM. As long as the CPU and RAM are ā€˜enoughā€™ to run the core without giving drawing too much power and hence generating too much heat that requires a fan, that will be ideal.

As for NAS, it can located other than the listening room, so any noise is a non-issue.

agreeā€¦i5 w/8gb and 64gb ssd (or 128gb if you need room for more than OS) runs fine either as a Core or as a Core/Remote system. GB Wired is my preference. And as mentioned there are just kit boards that can be purchased and using third party fanless enclosures which look really nice.

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The SSD is not a matter of ā€œspeedā€ it is a matter of no moving platters ( a potential noise & heat source) and less power consumption and heat which lessens the needs for fans. That everything is lightning quick is a side benefit, imho.

Well, quite frankly, the core can be located right next to the NAS and as does not itself have to be ā€œsilentā€ unless the Core is in your listening environment. The Remotes on the other hand are the ones which should be silent.

Fanless chassis is must!

See my chassis somwhere here

I run a standard chassis with a fan - Intel NUC i7 with 16GB and a large SSD (1TB) as my collection is fairly small (850 GB) and I use Tidal streaming a lot and hope that MQA and other hi-res streaming will be available soon enough to avoid getting a NAS for more music.
Anyway, have never heard the fan on my NUC to kick in even once since I purchased it in May.
So while fanless is very cool and surely ideal but not compulsory in my view. An SSD is though I think as HDD is very loud and slows down the system a lot.