What is the best choice to upgrade from 1.8 legacy to 2.0?
For the last years my Roon core was installed on my iMac late 2009 (Intel Core2Duo, 12GB RAM + NAS Syno214+ 2*2TB) able to handle up to 6 audio endpoints.
With the recent release of Roon 2.0 ARC upgrade, I’m now "stuck " with Roon 1.8 legacy.
In order to access to the latest Roon release what can I do?
Should I buy an up to date NAS and install Roon 2.0 on it while moving all my albums in it ?
Or should I buy a second hand Mac Mini,which model and why?
Should I through myself in a NUC and the several models trying to mock the less affordable Nucleus Roon, what model?
Let’s NOT argue, if possible, on 1.8 vs 2.0 !
having several places to listen to music at home, I only use my smartphone or an android tablet to command my Roon core.
Buy a NUC, put ROCK on it. Add a silent case if it is going where you listen. Keep the NAS or copy your music to a SSD/HDD on the NUC. It’ll take a bit of work but once done it will just sit there and work. There are other options to keep it cheap like the Lenovo mini PC’s second hand that will come with a HDD and memory. Most can be configured to run ROCK also but will probably have Win10 on. Anything with a 4th gen processor i3;5/7 will be OK. Go i5 for an older machine (4th/5th gen).
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Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
3
Roon support is not a big fan of a NAS setup. It creates complexity in a relatively simple setup situation. We recommend a NUC running Roon ROCK or a Nucleus running Roon OS for the best possible user experience. Alternatively, a decent Windows or Mac computer works great but must be kept online for things to work. Also, any type of additional usage of the core computer could impact network stability and the ability of Roon to function to its fullest capacity.
I’d recommend a Mac mini M1, with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM. 8GB if you have a relatively small library and don’t intend to use it for anything else, otherwise 16GB.
£50 for an old business machine? I got a Dell Optiplex 3050 for £50 ($60). Mine has 16GB ram, i5 6500, and it runs ROCK. Minimal setup, was up and running in 15/20 minutes. It’s stored away in another room (closet/porch).
You can’t go wrong with a NUC setup, regularly see the NUC8i5 go for around £200/£230 for the kit, and around £300 with 16GB/128SSD.
So, you have loads of options. The above are for people that like to tinker around. The above Dell machine is not supported by ROON. So, if you’re worried, stick with what they recommend or support!
More about ROCK’s hardware support…
We have worked with Intel to support its Intel NUC line of products. They are low power high performance easy to install units that work very nicely as a Roon Core Server. The models we support are:
NUC5i3xxx
NUC5i5xxx
NUC6i3SYx
NUC6i5SYx
NUC7i3BNx
NUC7i5BNx
NUC7i7BNx
NUC7i3DNx
NUC7i5DNx
NUC7i7DNx
NUC8i3BEx
NUC8i5BEx
NUC8i5BEx
NUC8i7BEx
NUC10i3FNx
NUC10i5FNx
NUC10i7FNx
@Wes@Henry_McLeod Hello guys.
I have an opportunity to buy a second hand NUC for around 150$ in my city (Bordeaux, France)
It is a NUC5i5MYHE bought in 08/2018 with 8Go of Ram and a SSD of 256Go. I will only use it for Roon and it should be located in a closet. My music library is not huge
1: is it ok for Roon 2.0 and the next years upgrade ?
2: Should I jump on it ?
Now that the Apple silicon is supported in Roon 2.0, I think it’s a no-brainer. Get a second hand Mac mini M1 basemodel. You’ll never get that kind of performance/low power consumption in an Intel machine. I bought a second hand Mac mini 8Gb/256Gb for approximately 350$.
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
14
Yes, I realize Roon doesn’t like the NAS approach, either for the Core or for music file storage. However, I find it simpler than running an additional computer on my LAN just for Roon, reducing complexity. My music files are on the NAS (a Synology DS 918+ with extra RAM) as well.
I have been contemplating moving off of it. I want to run a local copy of Stable Diffusion, but for that I need a server workhorse. So I thought I’d also move Roon and LanguageTool to that new server.
Aside from a NUC, there are many options I considered before Roon bestowed me with a Nucleus. I had been shopping on eBay for old corporate computers. Specifically, some core i5’s with 16GB of memory, integrated video, and an SSD with Win10.
I am also a fan of the Mac Mini. I use it primarily as a remote but I also use it as a core to test against user issues. It’s my first Mac in 15 years and I’m loving it.
Wes
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
16
I’ve got a couple of 2010 Mac Mini’s, with the slot-loading SuperDrive. Loved that form factor. But the whole Mac software ecosystem got a bit too proprietary for me. Mainly Linux these days, which works well on old Minis.
Hello Again
We’re getting close . A slightly more technical question, I intend to keep my music files in a NAS that I’ve already got. My foresseen Intel NUC will be à 5i5MYHE under Win10Pro but bought with a 256Go, 2.5" SSD already in the SATA socket. In order to flash this NUC with ROCK can I do it on this 256Go,2.5" SSD or should I buy a New M.2 SSD ( above 128Go) to be mounted on the M.2 socket ?
FYI the NUC is already built with 8Go RAM in DDR3 / 1333mhz.
You can flash it as it is, you only need to switch off UEFI in the bios and set boot priority for USB and it should load up and run. Take a backup of Roon to transfer to the new machine then point it at your NAS in setup. What I can’t say for certain is will a 1.8 backup be OK for a 2.0 install?
thx @Henry_McLeod, I haven’t totaly understood your advice, let me re-phrase it , I can flash my 2.5" SSD with ROCK and then access my Intel NUC BIOS to change the setup in order to boot on this 2.5" SSD (is that what you mean by switching off UEFI ? )
Regarding the last question : @Wes Will a 1.8 backup be OK for a 2.0 Roon install in my NUC ?
cheers
If you follow that you should be OK. It mentions installation to a SSD as opposed to M.2. It should also detail why and how to disable UEFI which is the mechanism WIndows and other modern OS’s use to boot. ROCK still uses the old legacy method.
When 2.0 hit and my 2013 iMac wasn’t up for the task, I purchased a base model Mac Mini M1 to replace it. I use a Nucleus as my core but keep my music files on the Mac Mini M1 (remote and music workstation) in another room connected via mesh WiFi.
The Mac Mini is better than I thought it was going to be and almost all issues I had with Roon connectivity and performance vanished with the upgrade. If the Nucleus ever goes down again and needs service, I have no doubt the Mac Mini M1 will perform fantastically as my core.
I seem to hold on to computers and use them for their lifespan instead of churning through the latest and greatest. I would recommend getting the base M1 and future proofing yourself for a good many years.
. A slightly more technical question, I intend to keep my music files in a NAS that I’ve already got. My foresseen Intel NUC will be à 5i5MYHE under Win10Pro but bought with a 256Go, 2.5" SSD already in the SATA socket. In order to flash this NUC with ROCK can I do it on this 256Go,2.5" SSD or should I buy a New M.2 SSD ( above 128Go) to be mounted on the M.2 socket ?
, I can flash my 2.5" SSD with ROCK and then access my Intel NUC BIOS to change the setup in order to boot on this 2.5" SSD (is that what you mean by switching off UEFI ? )