Intel NUC more powerful than Nucleus?

Hey guys, been awhile since I posted something here…glad to be back :slight_smile:

So, let’s say I buy myself an Intel NUC with an i7 processor (10th generation) and add 16G of RAM, would it be more powerful than the Roon Nucleus? And if not, what are the advantages of the Nucleus, and why would it be more interesting to buy?

Thx,
JST

Welcome back.
Looks like the 10th gen would be more powerful, from a different thread.

Wow… thanks Paul…

Good to know that I can have a device that is half the price of “the original” and even have more powerful specs.
At this moment I’m using a VM machine, running Win2019 Server (4 cores with 16 GB assigned to Roon), and connected this all to my Synology NAS. For sound, I can choose between the network connection of my NAD C368 (with BlueOS MDC 2i for multiroom possibility with 3 BlueSound nodes (1st gen), or I can use my latest purchase, the MDC USB DSD, which is connected to my computer via USB. Both sound terrific. Now that I’m aware of the specs of the Nucleus, I’m considering buying a NUC, to have a dedicated device for my music. Thanks again, Paul, for the valuable info !!

JST

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NUC + ROCK is the original. Nucleus came after.

  • fanless
  • nicer looking
  • control systems (control4/crestron)
  • turn-key and pre-built
  • zero effort
  • cooler, consuming less power,

The thermal management on Nucleus is far superior to ROCK + NUC which relies on the NUC’s BIOS + CPU fan to be reasonable. If you go fanless with ROCK, you will almost always end up reducing lifespan of your CPU, because ROCK will push it hard when needed.

That said, it sounds like your ROCK + NUC setup is pretty great, and if you are looking to save some money, it’s a great route to go!

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Hey Danny,

I understand your concern about this issue. If everybody would think the way you did, with summing up these advantages, there would be no problem: everybody would buy a Nucleus.

But…

  • fanless: agreed, no fan, no noise, but I can make a PC, fully loaded, so quiet, that you would think it’s fanless. The latest Noctua’s and their rivaling friends are so well manufactured these days, that they’re almost perfectly silent, even during heavy loads.

  • nicer looking: hmmm, that’s relative…not everybody likes a black cooling-like device in their living room.

  • control systems (control4/crestron): not everybody needs these…

  • turn-key and pre-built: this one I would like to take together with the next one: There are so many hobbyists who love to assemble these devices themselves. There’s this saying: what you do yourself, you’re doing it better…

  • zero effort: (see the one before)

  • cooler, consuming less power: also correct, but people who can spend $1,500 or even $2,500 on a box that only serves for distributing music, don’t care about the consumption.

So, that’s my theory. But don’t get me wrong, I would certainly advise anybody who loves good quality music to buy such a Nucleus (small or big), but for those who have the skills and the time, (and less money) I would recommend assembling one themselves.

JST

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Complete agreement. That’s why we offer ROCK for free.

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