The Roon Knowledge base recommends the NUC7i7BNH. It seems like new models came up since it was written, specifically the NUC8i7BEH and the NUC7i7DNHE. Are they not listed because the Knowledge base hasn’t been updated, of because those models are not recommended?
What is more reliable and hassle free: internal or external?
Depending on the previous answer, which economical + reliable 2.5" spinning internal disk is recommended? Or which economical + reliable external USB spinning disk is recommended?
The external drive is the same type of drive as the internal.
Couple of things. One is going to be your manufacturer. I personally favor WD. Different strokes for different folks. Some here prefer Seagate and others prefer HGST and of course there are a few other manufacturers.
A external USB will perform just as well as an internal. No audio difference between the two. A external might for some folks be easier to upgrade. A internal all in one solutions creates a nice setup though. This again is also a personal preference.
No matter which way you go, I would recommend that you setup a good backup solution for your media.
I have an SSD in my NUC7i7BNH so I am unable to answer your question as asked. I can tell you that mine is running Ubuntu 18.04 with Roon Server and uses very little of the CPU power to stream music. I can load more files, have tracks analyzed and download patches with no interruption to the music that is playing. It’s been a pretty solid device so far.
Having said that, I bought it based on the Knowledge base suggestion without giving it much extra thought because I was a newbie at the time (technically I still am). The one caveat I ran into that I thought I would point out to you is that the NUC8i7BEH & NUC7i7BNH are both 28 watt models. If you ever think you might want to passively cool your NUC in a fanless case, then I would suggest you favor the NUC7i7DNHE or another 15 watt model. If you go to a site like Akasa and look at the fanless cases, they are usually compatible with the lower powered models. Not knowing your exact plans I didn’t know if this would be a factor in your decision making but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to mention it. Based on what I’ve seen with my system so far, I could have gotten by with a lower powered i5 model just fine. I went for overkill at the start to future proof my system for intended growth but I’m not close to stressing it yet.
I took a peek at the 8* series but the main difference I saw at the time was the addition of more monitor connections. Since I was running a headless server, that wasn’t a compelling reason to buy the latest model. So I opted to stay with the approved 7* series. There may have been other improvements but I didn’t notice anything major at the time.
Funny enough, just after I posted above, I went one last time on my Synology NAS DS421+ control panel (where Roon core is installed and was not functioning properly / stopping constantly), and - duh - decided to uninstall all softwares running in the background (like Plex server, etc) except Roon. To free some CPU and memory usage. I restarted the NAS, and now, it all works flawlessly…
I believe your NAS has same processor as mine. I’ve been using a DS713+ with a 30,000+ library for a week now without hiccup. Mind you, I am not using DSP, upsampling, etc.
This was 2 month ago… Since, it’s been definitely better than before, but still not 100% reliable. I think I unfortunately reached the limit of my NAS brain power. Contemplating buying a NUC to run ROCK and enjoy my music without a glitch, and frustration.
All is not lost going this route. You could pull your music from your NAS or have your music locally with your Rock and then use your NAS as a backup for your NUC Media.