I am new to this this nice forum and I have been trying hard to research for the hardware specifications to build a Roonserver only running Rock OS with a HDPlex chassis, which in my case would be a perfect aesthetic match with my new Naim system
I can find lots of old topics and suggestions, but no new ones with what hardware people would suggest and recommend for a 2023 build.
So I would really appreciate you guys to advice me i my “quest”
Especially which mainboard, passive cooling solution, CPU and which HDPlex model etc… for a 2023 build.
Roon ROCK is for the specified Intel NUC hardware. Loading it on anything else is considered tinkering and is not officially supported. That might not matter to you. If it does and you want to use the HDPlex then load Linux and the linux RoonServer.
@Rugby, the small HDPlex is NUC compatible. It’s quite a bit bigger than an Akasa, but quite well finished. On the upside, the cooling capability is probably quite a bit higher than you’d get on a smaller, lighter case.
@Lars_Sander, I’m using a NUC7i7, so a Nucleus+ from a few years ago clone. You can email the HDPlex guy and ask about compatibility with the later generations - it should be OK.
Do keep in mind that you need to buy an extra cooler for the NUC board, and also that building HDPlex boxes isn’t as easy as building a “regular” computer (getting the heat pipes aligned can be tricky for example).
HDPLEX do have a model that officially supports 7th & 8th Generation Intel NUC’s, you would need to purchase the NUC kit as an extra: HDPLEX H1 V3 Fanless PC Case
I don’t know if later model NUC’s would work in the chassis, you would need to email Larry from HDPLEX to find out.
You are right @Xekomi, I’d never built a PC before but I managed to build my own HDPLEX, it had me sweating a few times but I just took it very slowly and walked away for breaks when things got tricky.
I appreciate the answers so far guys
I think that what got me most confused about this NUCthing is probably that NUC somehow isn’t the same as a normal build with any kind of mainboard with an OS installed…
There is “official” hardware restrictions
Anyhow, for the forward building for a stable HDPlex we now got:
Chassis:
HDPlex H1 v3
Cooling:
HDPlex NUCkit (right?)
PSU:
Mainboard:
? @oneofmany What Asus model did you use?
CPU:
?
RAM:
16 gb (any kind, just compatible with mainboard)
Drives :
128/256 gb NVMe for the OS
2 Tb for storage of music library
My HDPLEX is what we refer to as a MOCK, it is built on hardware that is not officially supported by Roon for a ROCK server. Although ROCK runs on my unofficial hardware it may break anytime Roon issues a software update and I can imagine a time in the future where this will ultimately happen.
If you scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find a list of supported models.
If you want to build a “stable” Roon server using ROCK then I suggest that you build it using one of the supported NUC models but also bear in mind that NUC’s are only supported in their original cases with a fan installed.
Roon do not recommend Fanless builds although many of us run them.
Nucleus is different as the ROCK software has used on the Nucleus has specific enhancements for fanless use.
@Xekomi
Thanks, I will write Larry for the latest compatibility.
@oneofmany
Ok, thanks a lot, that makes more sense now that I understand and have researched a bit more about NUCs and what it is…
So, if I (and all new Roon builders) wanted to build a ROCK with a HDPlex H1 v3 the topbuild would be a NUC10i7FNx as this is the newest NUC that HDPlex supports. Right?
Despite that the newest generation of NUCs is 13th gen.
And if I would go with a MOCK (Custom build) in a HDPlex chassis, and in mind, the insecurity about future updates to the ROCK OS, which mainboard, CPU, PSU did you use with your build? Which looks super cool btw.
Three years ago I set up my Roon Core server using a HDPlex H3V3 case. I much prefer a desktop-class mini-ITX board over a NUC, and at that time selected an Asus Prime H310i-Plus R2.0 board and an Intel Core i5 8600K processor, 16 GB RAM and a Samsung 970EVO-Plus 250GB NVMe drive for the OS and Roon. In addition I put an Intel WiFi board and a 2 TB Samsung SATA SSD in the box. HDPlex offers several power supply options; there is now a GaN power supply which would be my choice, as it is much more efficient and keeps cooler.
This system has done very well, passively cooling CPU and NVMe drive, at a place where the daytime temperatures at most every day exceed 40C. My Roon database at this moment approaches 270k tracks, with very good performance.
If I had to put together a new server at this moment, I would again choose the H3V3 case, or possibly the H5 version. I would again select a current no-nonsense Asus Corporate Stable Model mini-ITX board, for example the Asus Prime H610i-Plus D4-CSM which supports Intel 12th generation Core processors. I’d select an appropriate processor model, e.g. the Core i5-12400 with a base power dissipation of 65W, which the HDPlex chassis can easily cool. With 16 GB RAM you can expect to manage a database of about 300-350k tracks; maybe some more. If you expect to exceed this database size, just grow to 2x16GB.
I agree with @Rugby that you should rather run a minimal Linux server (e.g. Ubuntu server 22.04 LTS) on this machine, instead of Rock. This will give you shell access, flexibility and easy tools for monitoring and administration of the server. I work on an iMac, from where I keep most always a terminal session on the Roon Core server open. If you can put together your Core machine using a HDPlex case and appropriate parts, you’ll be able to set up and admin a simple Linux server which will run stably and will only require you to apply package updates, at a schedule of your choosing. Even kernel updates can be applied with the system running, without need to immediately reboot. I am quite happy with this setup and can heartily recommend it.
Yes, this is really turning out to be a hard and complicated choice indeed
@Andreas_Philipp1
Thanks for the reply, I have seen your previous posts which actually started my interest for this build
The nice build you have put together, is that 100% fanless? (Totally silent)
The build that I want to “create” has to be totally silent and it’s only purpose is running either a RoonServer or RoonRock.
I can definitely understand the need for monitoring with a e.a. Ubuntu, but I don’t think I would have the need if it just runs a RoonServer and nothing else.
@Andreas_Philipp1 If I end up with this, I only miss a little info for those parts you suggest for a 2023 MOCK-build, I think I’m only missing a passive CPU cooler and exactly which additional parts to get from HDPlex H3 or H5.
For anyone who follows this thread, I will try and summarize parts and suggestions when ready👍🏼
Well, I think you do want to be able to do thermal monitoring. You also want to connect your server to a UPS and use NUT on it to monitor the UPS and perform graceful shutdowns in case of power outages. Those are just examples. There are other things to consider I don’t want to get into here.
You don’t need any additional passive CPU cooler. The HDPlex comes with all you need to passively cool your build. You just need to decide upon a motherboard, CPU and RAM. The parts I suggest are those I would choose.
@oneofmany
This build is absolutely also still very interesting, but if you purchase a HDPlex H1 v3 with a NUC kit… Then where to purchase an official supported mainboard etc… or is the solution to buy an official NUC and then pull the hardware from there and install it into the HDPlex chassis?
Yup. The “cheap” way if you’re doing ROCK is to go get a used, compatible and supported NUC, take the board out of the case, remove the cooler, and build that into the small HDPlex case / HDPlex NUC kit combo. If you’d like a one box solution, there’s probably a way to integrate a power supply as well.
A small NVMe drive for the system and Roon’s database. You will not be putting any music on this.
RAM, preferably two sticks. If I’m not mistaken, ROCK doesn’t use anything beyond 8Gb, so depending on how big your library is (keep in mind this includes both local and remote files), 2x2Gb or 2x4Gb.
A second drive for your music files (this can be either a SATA SSD or a 2,5" spinning rust drive. If you have more than 5Tb of files, you can either use a 2,5" SSD, or a 3,5" spinning rust (you’ll have to find a way to power a 3,5" drive).
Optional: a tube of good quality thermal paste (HDPlex ships some, but you might as well. If memory serves, you might want to stay away from some liquid metal type products, because they oxidise aluminum. If in doubt: ask HDPlex).
If you’d like to build something that does more than ROCK does, then, as others have said, you have other options.
Please keep in mind that putting a supported nuc motherboard in a different case renders it unsupported. Only the original and unmodified nuc hardware is supported.
I think there might be a bit of a terminology misremembering here: unless I’ve missed something, “unsupported” would be MOCK, so a non-NUC device on which ROCK happens to run, or third-party fanless hardware, such as the pre-built device referred to here.
Of course @danny isn’t a big supporter of non-Nucleus fanless cases, because some of them are apparently a bit tight as far as cooling is concerned, plus IIRC, one of the differences between Nucleus and a home-built or third-party fanless ROCK device is optimisations to Nucleus, to help heat dissipation, but it’s a completely different can of worms than building a MOCK and dealing with (unlikely) potential driver issues in potential future versions.
