Hello, I’m still pretty new to Roon and would like to find (detailed) step-by-step assembly instructions for a NUC that can run ROCK.
I’ve managed to find a list of the parts needed but I’m at a complete loss as to how all of these parts fit together and what plugs into which slot etc…
Before I endeavor to take on this project, I should probably make sure that I’m I’m on the right track here. Is a NUC running ROCK a home-built version of the Roon Nucleus or am I confused about this?
Thanks
A NUC is based on similar hardware, and ROCK is a very similar OS.
The NUC should come with instructions on how to install memory and storage.
Thanks.
I agree that the NUC “should” come with instructions but I was really hoping to hear from someone who who has actually assembled one of these NUC units that can run ROCK and can speak to the extensiveness and difficulty of the build before I decide to order the parts.
There’s a YouTube video for nearly everything you could want in life.
Here’s 3 below, that should give you a good idea of the time and difficulty involved. They are slightly different to what you will do - you will have an M.2 SATA drive for example. But mostly the same gist.
If you get stuck on any particular part you can always jump on this forum and share photos.
As per the videos, it’s a ~10 minute ordeal for the physical assembly part of getting ROCK up and going.
As Henry said, the instructions that come with the NUC will be valuable too.
I have done several. If you can use a screwdriver you will have no difficulty at all. It really is very simple.
Thanks, I was under the impression that the the assembly instructions for the NUC are exclusive to the ROCK itself but it seems that installing these parts together in the NUC is a very generic process.
After assembly, will software need to be installed in order for this to be used as a Roon Core? If so, how is this done?
The Nuc is a general purpose pc for running Windows or Linux operating systems. Rock is a OS based on linux designed to only run Roon on a Nuc. If you want a prebuilt system to run only Roon with SW already installed you should purchase a Nucleus or Nucleus+.
Here are two YouTube tutorials for the software installation:
I’ve built a lot of computers. I always gravitated to smaller models so did quite a few Shuttle branded ones.
A NUC is smaller, its memory is the smaller laptop type. M.2 was new to me but it is simple so long as you get it the right way around.
The first time I didn’t with NVMe memory which was the wrong type anyway. It took out the motherboard but that memory survived.
If you really do find this problematic, get someone to build it for you. Just watch the tutorials and take your time.
Thanks Henry,
I’ve always been a Mac guy and have never even thought about building a computer. After reading more about it and viewing some of the videos, It’s not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. I didn’t realize that’s it’s just a matter of plugging boards into slots as oposed to soldering tiny components onto boards. I might just be able to pull this off!
The hardest part is dealing with the sub-microscopic screw that holds the M.2 in place.