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.
Thanks for the feedback. I am actually not bad at DIY, havenāt 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 donāt have the budget to create the ideal environment.
I would have imagined that NUC would have been the cheapest option and maybe itās cheaper than Nuculuse but still, itās coming up to the same price as a soundbar. Anyway, I donāt want to be complaining, Iām 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?
Thank you, this looks like a good option
This model is supported
Price is good on this one. Do you think an i3 would be enough?
I tried an 8i3 and it worked really well.
And see @simon_pepperās post above - he was running an older i3 for a while.
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.
You can get a blemished Nucleus from Roon for $1119. Thatās what I got over 2 1/2 years ago and itās 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.
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.
Get a cheap Windows mini PC from Amazon, install Roon Server for Windows, avoid all the anxiety and drama.
Roon approved NUC devices:
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NUC5i3xxx
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NUC5i5xxx
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NUC6i3SYx
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NUC6i5SYx
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NUC7i3BNx
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NUC7i5BNx
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NUC7i7BNx
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NUC7i3DNx
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NUC7i5DNx
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NUC7i7DNx
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NUC8i3BEx
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NUC8i5BEx
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NUC8i5BEx
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NUC8i7BEx
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NUC10i3FNx
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NUC10i5FNx
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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).
Weāve told him that 4 times now, but he wonāt listen for some reason. I would just go with this and call it a day.
Iāve had that exact little guy for years, used for a variety of functions that I need 24/7. Recently I consolidated a lot of server containers into my homebrew super NAS box. The antique NUC was available when I started with roon, so I ran it dedicated with ROCK. Worked great, even with mild DSP tweaks. Actually, Iām currently running this NUC with an ultra lightweight Linux (Alpine, I think, but I canāt remember) and both roon and Pi-hole containers controlled by a Portainer Agent. Still zippy (enough for me) roon performance.
So donāt worry about it.
Iāve got Roon, Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, NZBFinder, SABnzbd and Deluge running on an old NUC D54250WYKH. Apart from changing the fan this year, itās never missed a beat. If you see a cheap one, Iād snap it up.