MOCK Success Report - GMKtec Mini PC N97

I can confirm that the GMKtec Mini PC N97 appears to work fine with the latest (as of this writing) Roon ROCK factory reset image.

I almost always stick to officially supported NUC part numbers when installing Roon OS. I picked up the GMKtec during the Prime Day sale and figured why not give my a try?

There was no need to change any BIOS settings. Just flash the image to a thumb drive, insert it, boot the image by pressing F7 within 3 seconds of power-on, and follow the prompts. YMMV, but this was the easiest Roon OS install I’ve done to date.

Here’s ETA PRIME’s review of the hardware. Impressive for its size and price.

It won’t compete with the Nucleus One, but at $149, it’s an inexpensive way to get that hands-off Roon OS experience with only slightly more setup effort.

I’ll be sure to report back on this thread about any issues, but it’s been running like a top so far.

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It would also make a great little RoonBridge endpoint for those needing a Windows box to run ASIO drivers.

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That, or also for HDMI audio to get 5.1 or 7.1 multi-channel output. I’ve not had much luck with this using a Raspberry Pi. This is not much more expensive.

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that is awesome

that nucbox seems an ideal mock for whenever my old mock dies

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what are the processing speeds? and how big is the library you’re running this on?

I gave this MOCK build to my nephew to help him start his Roon journey. He does not currently have a local music library, so it’s only the favorites he has on TIDAL. However, I did build a 66k tap convolution filter for his listening room. The little N97 has no problems applying this filter to tracks up to 24-bits, 192 kHz. He also has a second zone via Chromecast to an NVIDIA Shield TV Pro.

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Have you had the chance to try the HDMI output?

I have not, but I have no reason to believe HDMI output would not work as expected. That said, best to avoid using Roon Server as an output device.

Understood. Thank you.