Which NUC complete NUC newbie

[stephen_colman]

Im running a Mac mini at the moment, but really would like a NUC running Roon only connected to a Cambridge 851N and streamer.Ive a list of various ones but still Carnt decide.Iv e 5000 albums at the moment on a SSD which I would also like to incorporate in the device rather than sat at the side.
I know I should probably go with the 13th gen nuts but reviews on here say the 11th gen are really good.A few questions if anyone could make suggestions

1. 11th gen or 13th gen
2. should I stick with an i7
3. How much RAM
   4…Is there any benefit from connecting the NUC direct to my amp…ie USB or just stick with ethernet
4. how do I determine via the model numbers which will hold a ssd for storage ie NUC11TNHi7

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

@stephen_colman - There are some good information here:

Roon Optimized Core Kit

Torben

[Grasshopper (\m/)]

I have a library of 2200 or so albums, I went with the NUC11TNHi3, 8gb ram, 128gb ssd & it is fine, silent & it is very responsive, no core issues that I have noticed. It just runs the core, nothing connected, music is on a nas.

edit: don’t forget to order the cable

[GregD (Greg Dowling)]

I have around 30000 tracks and 7 zones (with some convolution room correction) running perfectly on a 8i7 rock, .

All stays very cool.

[Billy_Cheung]

If your budget allows, may I suggest go for the i7 NUC? That will be helpful when you apply convolution dsp for digital room correction. Digital room correction is not difficult to start but the effect is very positive, in most of the cases.

[Geoff_Coupe]

Don’t go with a 13th gen NUC - it’s not currently on the supported NUC list of Roon Labs because Intel have made some hardware changes in the design and Roon OS does not yet fully support it.

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

I really hope that Roon/Rock soon is supported on NUC13ANHi7.

Torben

[Geoff_Coupe]

I wouldn’t hold your breath. Particularly now that Intel has turned the whole NUC business over to ASUS. I think @danny has plenty of issues to deal with already without worrying about 13th gen Intel NUCs.

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

@Geoff_Coupe - That would be VERY sad news. I need more horse power and NUC13ANHi7 would be absolutely perfect.

Torben

[Suedkiez (Just a fellow user like you)]

Danny said they have a good solution for ROCK in the pipeline but can’t talk about it yet

[Mike_O_Neill]

Depends on many things but if budget isn’t one of them then . Sounds like around 70k tracks so a medium sized library

• Use ROCK , keep it simple
• Don’t forget the System/OS SSD cannot be used for music files if you use ROCK
• Go i7 unless budget is really tight
• Don’t skimp on RAM ( 2 x8 Gb = 16 Gb) it’s relatively cheap
• Get an internal SSD big enough for now and allow for growth you can put up to 8Tb in
• Don’t forget that albums added to your library from Tidal/Qobuz count to your library size and database size as much as your local albums
• Use Ethernet rather than USB . That’s Roon’s recommendation. (I used a ROCK and CA CXN no problem)

Check out the Intel site for the right code number once you have decided which generation suits, basically 10 , 11 or 12 are all fine.

For reference , mine is a NUC 10i7FNH (Tall form) , 32 Gb RAM , 256 Tb OS SSD (smallest realistically you’ll need less that 100 Tb if that) and a 4TB SSD for content (around 140k tracks)

[Geoff_Coupe]

@Mike_O_Neill

Check out the Intel site for the right code number once you have decided which generation suits, basically 10 , 11 or 12 are all fine.

One caveat for gen 12 Intel NUCs: HDMI audio output is not currently supported in Roon OS.

No HDMI on supported NUC12

PCH is not HDMI – PCH is most likely the headphone jack on the motherboard. The issue of NUC12 (and beyond) HDMI support is known and is not a simple fix. It’s on the roadmap to fixing, but Intel has changed quite a bit about how this works, so it’s going to take some serious effort. We only recently got samples of these boards in. I also have some NUC13’s on the way here from Intel, and I want to make sure my changes will be compatible with the future line too. Anyway, NUC12 + HDMI will not …

[xxx (Banned - toxicity)]

@Torben_Rick

I need more horse power and NUC13ANHi7 would be absolutely perfect.

I don’t believe a more recent NUC Gen necessarily equates to more horsepower as would a step up in processor, i.e. from i5 to i7.

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

@xxx

I don’t believe a more recent NUC Gen necessarily equates to more horsepower as would a step up in processor, i.e. from i5 to i7.

I already have NUC10 i7 - but that is not enough!

Torben

[Suedkiez (Just a fellow user like you)]

A NUC with a mobile CPU, even the latest, may never be enough. As you know, Roon recommends the fastest CPU you can afford and plenty of RAM for very large libraries

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

@Suedkiez

Roon recommends the fastest CPU you can afford and plenty of RAM for very large libraries

Strange - I can’t find any recommendation in that direction.

Torben

[Suedkiez (Just a fellow user like you)]

I’m not sure how many tracks you have in your library, but if a 10i7 NUC feels too slow, a faster machine seems necessary

Roon Core and Remote specification recommendations

[stephen_colman]

I’ve seen a nuc 11 i7 running Windows,would I need to remove windows before installing Rock ?

[Torben_Rick (Torben - A Dane living in Hamburg - Roon Lifer)]

But that is not for ROCK. I need a fast ROCK setup

Torben

[xxx (Banned - toxicity)]

@stephen_colman

would I need to remove windows before installing Rock ?

Yes. ROCK is an OS that can only run Roon.

ROCK Install Guide