Answering a couple of questions should help you zero in on the best option for you:
Do you want to dedicate a computer to run Roon Core or must it perform other tasks as well?
Are you comfortable performing some simple / basic under-the-hood PC tasks?
Do you want it to function like a hands off appliance?
Do you want / need software support from a manufacturer or is community / forum support fine?
Is box count (overall number of powered devices) important to you?
As someone who has worked in and around technology for a long time, I like to listen to music while I futz with computers, not futz with computers so that I can listen to music. For me, ROCK on an Intel NUC was a total no brainer, and it’s pure heaven!
Ideally for me not being a computer guy, is an all in one solution like I had. A fully loaded NUC looks good, or possibly if Apple ever updates the Mini I’d might consider that. Nice to see all the various options people use.
I use a
Dell Latitude laptop for my Core Server
i5 CPU
16 GB Memory
120 Samsung SSD - Database
1 TB USB - Music
Windows 10 Pro.
I have the Windows system stripped down and the Display set to turn off when I close the lid BUT does not put the laptop in sleep mode. It also has a built in battery backup for occasional outages.
It is very very quiet and energy efficient. It is setup as headless and I use Remote Desktop to access it when needed
If you liked the way things have been working up to the point your PC died, then consider using a NUC the way you did before, as that will allow you to replicate your previous setup, while also allowing you to run ROCK in the future if you want to go that way. The cost for a ROCK compatible NUC setup can be pretty inexpensive if it needs to be.
I have a few options.
Main Roon Core:
Native install on QNAP TS-470 Pro (16Gb Ram, CPU replaced with i5 3470T) with Roon DB on old 60Gb SSD and music library on three spinning discs in a RAID0 config (3*3TB) in the same NAS.
Secondary Roon Core:
MOCK (ROCK install on other than supported HW) on a Asus Prime J3355I-C (Dual Core Celeron@2.0-2.5Ghz, 2*4Gb DDR3L) in a Streacom fanless chassi. Roon DB on 250Gb Samsung 950 SSD and internal 4Tb WD Blue for Music storage.
And some other tried out for fun such as my old HP ML 110 G5 server (quadcore Xeon and SmartArray SAS/SATA RAID) but this is outperformed by the MOCK!!!
My Roon Core runs on a SuperMicro C236 motherboard sporting an Intel Xeon 1200 with onboard graphics. FreeNAS runs on the metal with a Bhyve VM running Debian stable hosting Roon.
This machine does several jobs. It also provides a file store for Time Machine and runs UniFi controller in a jail.
My primary player is on a Raspberry Pi that experiences occasional dropouts.
I run Roon in two locations using dedicated reconditioned i5 notebooks with 256gb SSD drives. Music is on an external drive in one location, on a NAS in the other. The notebooks each cost less than $275 ((Canadian) at a local computer store. This setup is pretty much problem free, and inexpensive.
Mac Mini (late 2014) purchased at a refurb discount, 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, 1TB fusion drive, MacOS Sierra 10.12.5. Runs headless (but with an adjacent TV that I can connect via HDMI for occasional trouble-shooting). Main controller is a MacBook Pro. I use Screen Sharing from the MBP if I want to run Pandora/iTunes (instead of Roon) on the music server.
MAC Mini 2011/8GB RAM/500GB SSD connected via Thunderbolt 1 to WD MyBook 6TB RAID drive; also running headless with adjacent TV via HDMI, controlled from my iPhone 6S
HP ProDesk 600 G2 DM Intel® Core™ i7-6700T CPU @ 2.80GHz 8 GB Windows 10. Headless and hidden away out of sight. Admin tasks performed from anywhere using TeamViewer. Been solid for the past 1.5+ years.
Sure you can…that’s the general method for running the core via Mac or PC. That are other methods such as NAS, or ROCK, but you’re fine installing it that way…
