Lowest spec NUC good enough?

Roon Core Machine

Intel NUC

Connected Audio Devices

Bluesound NODE 2i via Ethernet

Number of Tracks in Library

~1500 tracks on Qobuz
~500 tracks on local storage

Description of Issue

Hey,
Currently, my Roon Core is my daily computer. I’m looking to get an Intel NUC to be used for this purpose. Would a low-specced NUC be perfectly fine, considering my library is very small, and I only have one end-point? As long as it’s listed on the ‘supported NUC models list’? And I’m guessing 4GB should also be fine? I’m looking at the secondhand market, and I’m not really sure what minimum specs I have to look out for. I guess I’m not really sure which aspects of using ROCK make more demanding processors a necessity.

Cheers,

~Leroy

EDIT: I’m not sure if this makes a difference, but I use a Parametric EQ in the DSP.

Yes, so long as you have one from the approved list.

Incidentally, I run ROCK on the NUC8i3 BEH. I have a few zones, and sometimes run them together with DSP:

  • Sample rate conversion
  • Volume levelling
  • Headroom
  • Crossfeed

Library is currently 3,716 albums.

Hi @Leroy_la_Fontaine,

I agree with @mjw’s assessment. However, if you spec yourself slightly higher than what you currently need, you’ll be giving consideration to library growth and zone usage. Just something to keep in mind. I typically buy any PC with tomorrow’s needs in mind.

Wes

1 Like

I would probably opt for the 5th gen i5. It is the computing equivalent of the later original i3 Nucleus. I’m familiar with the MY** variant. It is display port only, no HDMI. I began with the i5 and have an i3 as a backup to the 7th gen i7 I use now. The R*** variants are out there too but I have never used one. They are more conventional with HDMI and also early NVME capability. But is you search here they did occasionally have issues.

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