Which Intel NUC to choose?

The NUC8i7 is 14% faster than the NUC8i5 in PassMark single thread rating. You need to decide whether this is worth the extra cost. If our Lumin T2 (DSD512) happens to be in your future upgrade plan, or any other DSD512 DAC, and you’re interested in DSD upsampling, get the i7.

The RAM clock does not matter much for ROCK.

If you install 32GB RAM that would be a waste for ROCK, but not a waste if you run Windows with other apps.

8GB is enough for 300K tracks (the limit is actually higher depending on metadata).

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So a setup that would work both today, tomorrow and many years on would be a NUC8i7 with a 16GB RAM with 1600Mhz and a Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB SSD?

Thank you for helping out on this issue! Felt like a jungle at first :smiley:

Are you planning to install Windows on it? These specs are good for Windows too. The problem with NUC is that CPU is soldered to motherboard and it cannot be replaced or upgraded. Right now you want to use it as Roon core server, but your audio setup may have change in the future. I have NUC5 that I was using as server for the last 10 years and now I’m using it as a desktop computer. These computers are really reliable and last long. It is better if it has m.2 type storage type and possible SATA slot for SSD so you may add storage later.

ROCK needs a very small SSD for OS only, and you cannot use it to store local music files.

Get the 250GB to save some money, or even 128GB of a different model.

The NUC8iBEH2 is a very powerful machine. I’m running it on ESXi 6.7.0 with 2 vm’s. One with Linux 18.04 and Roon core and a Plex server. The other VM runs Windows 2019 server also running a Roon core and Plex server. I can easily switch between the two Roon servers to find out what fits the best. So my advise would be 1Tb Samsung 970 EVO m2 SSD and 32 Gb ram. Use the Nuc not alone for Roon but for many more as it’s powerful enough. My Music source is on a Synology Ds3018xs. The Roon database on the Nuc SSD.

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Suggestion: stop doubting and see my offer :wink:

Yeah, cause I’m not gonna store files or use local files, simply just run TIDAL through Roon. So just a 970 EVO Plus 250GB would do? Paired with a NUC8i7 and 16GB 2400mhz DDR4 and that should do for some time :musical_note: :slight_smile:

Yeah, 250GB is too big already. It holds ROCK OS and the Roon database. I’ve got 45K music files files and the drive has 97% free space. You could do with 128GB but they are hard to find…

Hi,
Is there any advantage in using W10 Home vs. Pro?
Thx
Stefano

Probably not. The only difference I can think of is that if you were running the Windows 10 NUC as a headless server, then you would need Windows 10 Pro running on it to log in remotely if you wanted to use Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app.

However, you could still use Teamviewer as an alternative to log in remotely - it works with both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro, AFAIK.

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Thanks Geoff, exactly my intended use.

In case you’re not aware of it, check out this Help Center article…

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If anyone knows; now I have been looking specificly at the Intel NUC8I7BEK. Is this thing fanless? I can’t seem to find that info under specs. (I have saved the cost of choosing an ‘H’-model with room for a hdd, since I won’t be needing it…)

Don’t know why you are so fixated on a fanless NUC, since you say you are putting it in a closet.
Is it because fanless is the flavor of the month?

My NUC sits on my desk and I’ve never heard the fan.

Again, get one with a fan and avoid any potential heat problems.

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Hi. Unsure where your based but the prices of 8 series NUC seem very variable at present, presumably due to last remaining stocks. Purchased an 8i7 a couple of weeks ago from sotel.de in Germany and the BEH was cheaper than the BEK ( now the same price but 40Euros dearer than I paid.)

No flavor of the month, snake oil or fixation on tip & tricks are not gonna show difference in SQ. I was actually asking just to be sure that it won’t overheat, since it’s in a closet :slight_smile:

@Steve_Howlin, I live in Denmark, so I’m looking at Proshop.dk, where there a difference at about 100USD between BEH and BEK. I would prefer the BEH, IF the day should come, that I will be needing the hdd. But as a student, I’m also very concerned about the budget :slight_smile:

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My NUC8i7BEH is supposed to have a fan but I’ve not heard it or felt any air movement from it.

I do recall the case being slightly warm once after it had been running 3 grouped zones all day. I’ve had doubts about the fan being enabled after reading some posts on the noise. But have not had reason to check.

It’s in a media closet with fresh air drawn in from the bottom front and exhausted in the rear at ceiling height.

Please read my second reply in this thread again.

Ah thanks, didn’t see that.
Better be safe than sorry, since I haven’t been doing hardware diy before :slight_smile:

I suspect it’s the same motherboard between the two but not certain by any means on that. i.e the SATA connection is present in both. If so a future upgrade if required could be a new third party case with room for a SDD/HDD