Being a long time JRiver MC user, I’m not yet sure I’ll move to Roon. But as they are extremely reluctant to integrating streaming services like Tidal and quobuz, I’m seriously looking for an alternative.
As far as I can tell, ROCK is only supported on Intel NUCs. But how about AMD? Before my final decision, I first want to try Roon in a VMware Workstation VM. After that I want to run the server, preferably ROCK, on a relatively light weight stand alone server with it’s own storage to accommodate my local music collection. I read good things about the ZBOX CA621 nano (https://www.zotac.com/us/product/mini_pcs/zbox-ca621-nano-barebone), a small, fanless, AMD Ryzen 3 3200 equipped box, with sufficient memory and local storage options. Will that fly smoothly with ROCK? Or should I go for Roon Server with my own choice of Linux flavour, but also more hassle.
Welcome to the community. Roon Labs only support ROCK on the Intel NUC models listed here. Folks are successfully using ROCK on other systems (so-called MOCK systems), but these will not be officially supported by Roon Labs.
There are folks here who have MOCK systems running on Ryzen or ZBOX models (search the forums to find them), perhaps there’s someone who has tried the CA621 model…
Exactly what entails Roon support in this context? What can I expect when I install ROCK on a NUC, that I don’t get when I install it on another platform?
The issue is not so much the processor. One X86 is much like another. You need to try to guarantee that accompanying chipsets such as Ethernet and sound cards are supported, as well as the all important legacy boot mode. If they are possible then you will get a functioning MOCK. Also ROCK only installs on SATA/NVMe drives.
Absolutely the right call, in my opinion. I’ve never understood the whole MOCK thing–if one has enough Linux knowledge to get ROCK running on non-supported hardware, then one has enough knowledge to get Roon Server running on a proper Linux install, without the technical limitations of ROCK.
In my case, I recently migrated my core from a Windows 10 box to ROCK running on an 8i7 NUC, and I could not be happier. Motivation was that 1) performance on the aging i5-based Windows machine was lagging at times, and 2) I am going for a bit of simplification on a home landscape that has gotten pretty complex in recent years. One less thing to maintain and worry about. Performance of the ROCK has been, well, rock-solid so far, and I am very happy with the “appliance” solution. If you want to spend your time enjoying music rather than doinking around with technology, I think ROCK is a brilliant approach!
That’s exactly why I’m running ROCK. I have no issues with linux sysadmin work, but the last thing I need in my life and on my home network is another machine to feed and water. The plug it in and forget aspect is perfect.
