Indeed that is correct. For now the ROON is quite happy on the WIndows 11. Might change it to ROCK image when I feel the need for it; The Auto CD ripping (I had on my old NUC) didn’t work nicely as ROON just rips it without any metadata. So I prefer ripping on my MacBook Pro with a tool like DB Poweramp.
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This is a great option…do I need to buy another device to store the Rock OS software? I won’t need to store any local music files just streaming…
Rock is an operating system. So you would need to replace the current drive in the computer with a new drive. Keep the old drive safe if you want to go back to the previous OS.
Or buy a while new computer and load Rock, an asus pro 13th gen NuC would be my suggestion.
I think I answered my own question….the Nuc on this thread comes with 256gb ssd. So as long as I don’t need local files and stream only I should be all set.
The approved NUCs are pretty expensive for a dedicated room server. I have a feeling these cheaper ones aren’t on approved list to drive sales of the lower cost nucleus…
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Is available for 300 USD for the i3, 360 for the i5, plus adding in drives and RAM. Seems pretty inexpensive to me.
I would stop short of that speculation. The Nucleus One is for a different customer… one who is happy to pay a bit more for the piece-of-mind of a fully supported, plug-and-play product.
For those who are a bit more thrifty and adventurous, the GMKtec is a fantastic option.
If you want to retain the ability to run the factory Window 11 Pro operating system, you have a few options:
- Buy another M.2 2422 NVMe drive (around $35 for the same capacity) to use for Roon OS. Install that and set the OEM drive aside
- Install backup software on the factory drive (eg., Acronis True Image) and create a backup image of the entire drive
- Boot a Linux based backup tool and create an image of the original drive
I created a backup image before installing the ROCK image the first time in case Roon OS didn’t work with the hardware. Since I discovered that Roon OS works great on this hardware, I’ve not bothered to create backup images of the factory drives for my two subsequent builds.
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Yea so adding ram and SSD and you are close if not over 400 bucks for a unitasker server that only does one thing. I like room and get why it uses a dedicated hardware server. But for those of us that use it for streaming only it’s a hard pill to swallow…
That’s a great call to save the windows OS…didn’t think about that - thanks!
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Installed rock on this device and flawless install. Plus for some reason my AirPlay devices that didn’t work with my desktop server now work with my ROCK server. For those without a music library this seems like a great inexpensive server option.
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With three 5 Gbos USB3.2 gen1 ports and a microSD slot compatible with cards up to 2TB, there are plenty of storage options for a local library too. 
Thanks for your report. I’m delighted to hear that it worked well for you!
Hi David,
According to you, should the GMKtec G3 Plus with a N150-processor,outperform the GMKtec N97, as it is the more powerful processor with less power-consumption.
I think the N97 has a better GPU, but on a headless Roon-server, that shouldn’t be an issue.
For the rest, I think the N150 is the better one, especially in power-consumption (7nm technology vs 10nm technology).
What do you think about the the GMKtec G3 Plus with a N150-processor?
Kind regards, Frank.
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I had a look at what ETA Prime had to say since I’m not familiar with this particular model:
There’s a lot to like about the G3 Plus, including the 2.5 Gbps Ethernet and the M.2 2242 SATA SSD slot. While no M.2 2242 drive is included, you could add one that will support up to 2 TB of internal music storage. According to GMKtec’s own measurements, processor performance benchmarks look to be about a wash. The larger case should make the G3 Plus easier to cool with less fan noise (although the N97 is silent most of the time). Memory expandable to 32 GB (single SO-DIMM) offers future-proofing for folks with growing music libraries.
However, the N97 has DDR5 4800 memory compared to DDR4 3200 on the G3 Plus. Roon Server is a fairly memory-intensive application, so this may give the N97 a slight performance advantage. Both devices sip power when idle. I’d have to measure them to see if there’s a significant difference, but I we’re talking well less than 10 watts for both.
Performance, features and power consumption aside, the real question is if the G3 Plus will work with Roon’s ROCK image. Roon Labs only officially supports specific Intel (ASUS) NUC part numbers for running Roon OS. That’s why we call these builds with non-standard hardware “MOCK” instead of “ROCK”. 
We happened to get lucky with the GMKtec N97, but I would never assume that GMKtec’s entire line of mini PCs are compatible. Someone will actually have to buy a G3 Plus and test it. If you decide to do so, please report back and let us know how it goes!
Personally, I prefer the form factor of the diminutive N97. You really have to see one in person to appreciate how small and lite it is. Smaller than a Raspberry Pi and not much more expensive (after you add a case, power supply and storage). Amazon’s random pricing for the day has the black and blue models back up to $179.98 in the US. However, the pink one is still available for $136.79 after 5% coupon.
Ok, out of curiosity, how do you think the N97 or N150 would compare to a 7i5 (I care much more about the snappiness of responsiveness instead of DSP)? I keep wondering when I’m going to find the magic replacement to my current NUC.
It’s been a while since I’ve used a 7th gen Intel Core i5 NUC, but IIRC, it only had two cores and was not very quick. The N97 is likely more responsive. For the price, there’s little risk in trying one out.
@Johnny_Ooooops
For the moment, I am trying out the N150 (and also the N97, i bought both). The only problem is that I requested a second subscription for Roon, but it takes apparently a long time for Roon to give me the license.
My first thoughts on the N150 (GMKtec G3 Plus): The installation of ROCK-software was very easy. And the big advantage I see over the N97 (GMKtec G5 Mini PC): it has the possibility to put in a second harddisk (M.2 SATA), which appears as “Internal Storage” under “\IP-address\Data\Storage\InternalStorage”. This is exactly like my official NUC/ROCK.
It is indeed true that the N97 has a much smaller case, but that is not my biggest priority.
So, I hope that Roon will give me my second subscription soon, than I can test the N150 (and the N97) to see how reactive they are.
Kind regards, Frank.
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It looks like the single threaded performance is pretty similar actually to the 7i5 (according to geekbench the alderlake n97 and 7i5 both have ~1100), and I think that’s what matters to snappiness. I forget what speed memory I have, that may be more of the binding issue. I’m totally willing to take a <$150 flyer, and these machines are dead cool, and I have all the parts, but… I kind of want to believe that I have a decent theoretical shot of improving vs. what I have in the dimension I care about. But maybe I will anyways!
EDIT: According to GPT, the N150 also has a slight improvement in geekbench scores (5.5% faster) but… also:
The GMKtec N97’s and N150’s use of LPDDR5 memory at 4,800 MT/s offers a significant improvement in memory speed compared to the NUC 7i5’s DDR4 memory at 2,133 MT/s. This enhancement can lead to better overall system responsiveness and performance, especially in memory-intensive tasks.
More EDIT: Ok, GPT got it wrong, you said it right above - the N97 has faster memory. I ordered a pink one for same day delivery (Amazon is CRAZY), because it will sit in my server rack anyways and I think it’s awesome to have a PINK MOCK. Will let you know how it transpires…. At this price, I think I’m not going to get too precious about preserving the existing windows install in case I need to return it. I can always give it to someone with Unix on it for kicks.
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One side question David - why so many cores? Or is this just that you’ve rebuilt on the same core? I love your spirit of experimentation, and I’ve benefited inordinately from your work and careful documentation, so thank you thank you!
But in my own situation I’m still really trying to get from 2 cores (both currently on different 7i5’s) down to one, and get udp-proxy-2020 working across my two UniFi homes. I successfully stream PlexAmp from one home to the other, and though RAAT is pesky, I’d sure love not to have to deal with all the copying music, playlists, etc etc.
Thanks for buying a GMKtec G3 Plus to try out and reporting your results. I’m delighted to hear that the Roon ROCK install image works on it as well!
The behavior of internal storage is the same as a ROCK build on Roon-supported NUC hardware; however, the form factor is different: M.2 2242 SSD instead of 2.5 inch SATA SSD. This difference is significant because the M.2 2242 slot in the N150 has a maximum capacity of 2 TB while the (current) largest 2.5 inch SATA SSDs are at least 8 TB.
You can also add up to 2 TB of internal storage to the GMKtec N97 using its microSD card slot. This will be functionally identical to the N150. Of course, an M.2 2242 SSD is faster and can handle a lot more writes before failing, but these features are inconsequential once your music library has been copied to the storage. At that point, it’s almost entirely read-only.
You don’t need a second Roon subscription to test these two servers. Simply logout of one, log into the other, perform tests, and then repeat with the opposite server. All of your content and settings will still be there.
Haha. I’ve built a lot for friends, family, and random folks I’ve met at audio conferences or online. I strive to be meticulous and enjoy the process, especially when it can benefit others who want the results without the bother.
Personally, I have two Roon Servers, but I rarely run more than one at a time. My main Roon server is an 11th gen Intel Core i7 NUC that stays in the closet and runs the house. The second is the GMKtec N97, which I take with me to audio club events for demonstrations and “member music night” events. I’ll have it with me this year at AXPONA as well. I also sometimes lend it out to friends who I’m introducing to Roon to see if I can get them hooked. So, it’s my portable pocket Roon server, if you like.
Thanks for your kind words! I’m glad you’ve found some of the things I’ve shared to be helpful. 
Getting one Roon Server to manage audio devices and controls on physically separate (but logically connected) networks is an area I’ve not explored. I’ve skimmed a number of threads here in the Roon community where folks describe how they have solved this, so I believe it’s possible. I think you would need proxy ARP for the unicast bits of this and special consideration for passing multicast traffic to make this work. I’m looking forward to learning from you once you have it working!
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I was quite sure that would work. Afterall the Nucleus One has a N100-processor. So this one should be even snappier then the Nucleus One, but a lot cheaper.
I am quite sure that a 4TB M.2 SATA will also work. I did buy only a 2TB M.2, since that is, for the moment, enough for me.
The M.2 is much more robust than a microSD. And also much cheaper!
I know, but I do not want to stop lessening to music when I am fiddling with a new Roon-server.
Kind regards, Frank.
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