Is this NUC D54250WYKH suitable?

Roon Software Discussion ROCK
12

Hi David, thank you for your comprehensive list.

Is there a ready made all in 1 NUC for a good price? I have a small library and will all only have 2-3 end access point. I do think I should go for a i5 over an i3 to future proof.

Many thanks

13

How many albums/tracks do you have in your library?
As described here up to 10000 albums 100000 tracks the Nucleus will be fine. Nucleus is a Nuci3 in a fanless case, therefore a Nuc10i3 will be the right choice

14

This should be classified as a 4th generation NUC dated Q42013.

I don’t see you saying ROCK. If you install Windows and only a small library, it’s probably ok.

If you want to use ROCK, there are at least two issues:

  • It’s not in approved list (starting from 5th generation), but there were reports that it worked: ROCK on 4th generation NUC

  • With the 2.5" SSD used for boot OS, you don’t have another internal drive for music. Then you’ll have to use an external drive for music. Alternatively, you can attempt to find an already-obsolete mSATA drive as boot drive, and leave the 2.5" for music - but that’s still too small as a music drive.

Note that NUC10 with a ‘N’ suffix without headphone port cannot do HDMI output using ROCK.

Moved thread as everybody seemed to assume the OP is doing ROCK.

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15

However, I initially installed ROCK on a DC3217IYE, which is a 2nd Gen NUC running Ivy Bridge i3 CPU with 8GB RAM and 240GB SATA SSD. This NUC ran ROCK and my Roon Core library fine, at the time.

So the D5420WYKH with an i5 Haswell CPU, 10GB and 240GB SATA SSD should be fine, probably equivalent to a Rev A Nucleus, so good for up to 100K tracks, with a couple of endpoints and limited use of DSP.

See the CPU Performance comparison table I posted here Intel NUC - Roon Rock - only for TIDAL - #8 by simon_pepper

I also had to hand a NUC5i3MYHE, which is Maple Canyon i3, also with 8GB and 240GB SATA SSD. Which was the same as the Rev A Nucleus - this served as my ROCK server from then, 2017 to just earlier this year.

The DC3217IYE was passed out to a friend, for whom it still serves as their Roon Core.

I have also built several NUC5i3MYHE-based ROCK servers, for other friends, all of which are serving perfectly their Roon libraries. I also have a couple of NUC5i3MYHE units as backup servers.

I did make a move to a NUC7i7DNKE (quad-core Kaby Lake-R (Dawson Canyon) i7 CPU) with 16GB and 256GB NVMe PCI SSD drive (the same board as the Rev B Nucleus+), as my library approaches the 100k track point, but other than faster audio analysis scanning, I have not noticed a difference between the NUC5i3 and the NUC7i7

16

It’s odd that it comes with 10G of RAM. Usually RAM is in 2G or 4G increments.

Since there aren’t any 5G RAM sticks and the device only has two memory slots, it must be populated with an 8G stick and a 2G stick. That means memory can’t be interleaved; which is a performance hit. Don’t know if that matters so much for Roon, but it’s a weird way to do it.

I don’t believe Intel, or a distributor, would populate a device that way. It may be second hand and that’s the way the first user ignorantly installed RAM…

I guess if it’s cheap enough, then it’s worth a shot. I wouldn’t buy it, no matter how cheap.

17

Why not buy this from member here:

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18

I wish I could but I’m in Australia and his only shipping to US

19

I had a quick look and I think you should be able to find a suitable, supported used NUC on eBay locally.

20

My two cents:

A NUC with ROCK is there for the DIY-minded who want to save a bit. Rasoul, you don’t seem to want to DIY. So either shell out for a Nucleus, or if you want to save some money, just buy a modern i5 PC that’s cheap and put Roon on it. Don’t obsess about ROCK; it’s not that special. Regular Roon on a small PC will be fine.

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21

Maybe something like this one on eBay Australia [Intel Client Systems, NUC815BEH, i5-8259U Mini PC Barebone Desktop, 240GB | eBay
If you watch it for a while the seller often drops the price a bit. Note the price is AU$ so not too bad IMO.

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22

Thanks for the feedback. I am actually not bad at DIY, haven’t done it since my college days though.

Here is the thing, I am passionate about high-quality music and I not only use it for entertainment but also for sound medicine which some of you may know is a recognized medical field. For this to be effective I have to use high-end equipment and of course, a player like Roon to create the correct ecosystem

My issue is the price, not so much how expensive everything is but mostly because I don’t have the budget to create the ideal environment.

I would have imagined that NUC would have been the cheapest option and maybe it’s cheaper than Nuculuse but still, it’s coming up to the same price as a soundbar. Anyway, I don’t want to be complaining, I’m grateful for this service being available and for a community like this willing to help.

I have had a look on eBay and it looks like a Mac mini i5 would be a cheaper option. Any tips around mac mini? Any production years to avoid?

23

Thank you, this looks like a good option

24

This model is supported

25

Price is good on this one. Do you think an i3 would be enough?

26

I tried an 8i3 and it worked really well.

And see @simon_pepper’s post above - he was running an older i3 for a while.

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27

Ran Rock on a 7i3 for sometime and it would even handle Upsampling to dsd512 with a library of 200k tracks on external HDD and 16gb ram.

You should be good.:+1:

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28

You can get a blemished Nucleus from Roon for $1119. That’s what I got over 2 1/2 years ago and it’s been perfect. I could not find what they were calling the blemish. I am considering buying another one to keep as a spare and keep one Roon version behind.

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29

Buying a used computer is like buying a used cell phone. I would not do it unless minimizing cost was the highest priority. Even then, probably not.

A new NUC kit snaps together like Legos. You will have more fun and satisfaction if you buy parts and build yourself.

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30

Get a cheap Windows mini PC from Amazon, install Roon Server for Windows, avoid all the anxiety and drama.

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31

Roon approved NUC devices:

  1. NUC5i3xxx

  2. NUC5i5xxx

  3. NUC6i3SYx

  4. NUC6i5SYx

  5. NUC7i3BNx

  6. NUC7i5BNx

  7. NUC7i7BNx

  8. NUC7i3DNx

  9. NUC7i5DNx

  10. NUC7i7DNx

  11. NUC8i3BEx

  12. NUC8i5BEx

  13. NUC8i5BEx

  14. NUC8i7BEx

  15. NUC10i3FNx

  16. NUC10i5FNx

  17. NUC10i7FNx

Stick with one of these and you will be all good. If the NUC is not at this list, avoid it at all cost (yes, you can install Windows or Linux on it and install Roon Core, but it will not run Roon ROCK without some issues).

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