Many thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.
If I bought this, it seems to come ready assembled to my configuration am I right in thinking all I have to do is add the Roon software ?
Hi Tim if you add memory and a 256 GB disk you will be good to go.
Are you storing your music somewhere else as this doesnāt look like it has the space for an additional internal hard disk.
You can sit a USB on top of at the side
Hi. I need to decide on the following
Which generation and which processor
What size SSD
How much memory
Whether to have an internal HD or not
They will build whatever configuration I want.
I have my music library on an external HD, current file size is about 230GB and probably wonāt increase much from that. What the advantages of having an internal HD compared to an external HD. If I kept the external HD would it plug into the NUC or my TDAI 1120
Also, should I have a fanless case or not. As the NUC does not connect directly to the TDAI 1120 it will be kept in a different room.
Thanks
CPU and NUC generation
Generation does not matter so much, depends on what you can get. Probably at least 8th gen I guess. The NUC8 has a bit faster single-core speed than the NUC10 (which is the most important thing for ROCK, which uses a single core most of the time), the 10 has less power consumption. You should get a NUC model from the supported list that was posted before:
Note that ROCK does currently not support the HDMI audio output on NUC12.
i3, i5, i7 depends on the size of your library and what you want to do with DSP, guidelines are also in the above link. i3 is fine for most people (the Nucleus is, I think, a 7th or 8th gen i3), i5 is usually not that much more expensive and has a bit of headroom for growth, i7 usually is a larger financial step over i5 and only needed for very large libraries (the Nucleus Plus being an i7), but in the end it depends on the price you want to spend. Faster is better as long as you can afford it and donāt have to skimp on the other parts.
Primary SSD for ROCK installation
For the primary M.2 SSD where ROCK is installed, a 256 GB. Itās larger than needed but smaller ones are more or less unavailable now (and not cheaper), larger is not necessary.
The Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 250GB is a common and very reliable choice. The Samsung 980 / 980 PRO are newer models and also fine, also a bit faster, and depending on the prices you can get. You canāt go wrong with either.
RAM
16 GB RAM. You are most likely fine with 8 GB unless with a very large library, but 16 GB costs only a little bit more and you never have to worry. Nearly nobody needs 32.
Music storage
There are pros and cons. I have one and itās super convenient because it is in the box and no extra cables etc. Of course, in any case this is only required if you plan to have local music files
Internal storage
For a secondary internal disk, use a SATA drive, Samsung 870 EVO or 870 PRO. (Or 860 EVO if you still find one at a better price). The 870 QVO only if you require 8 TB size. The EVO is the sweet spot in price vs. capacity vs. reliability. The PRO is more expensive and the QVO uses a slightly less reliable storage technology; it is a bit cheaper than the EVO for the same size but not worth it. However, I think only the QVO is available in 8 TB size if you need that, the EVO tops out at 4 TB I think.
Iād buy at least twice the size you currently need. With the 230 GB you currently have, Iād probably go with a 1 TB size. The 1TB is available at good prices now and even if you double the size of your local library you are still using only 50% of the drive capacity. Empty capacity is good for SSD reliability because the SSD firmware has enough free cells to reassign as it ages and cells die. Of course, you may well be fine with a 500 GB as well if you donāt plan to grow the local library much.
External storage
Some people prefer to have the music drive as as external disk. This way, you can easily detach it and plug it into another computer if needed. And in case of any troubles, it is easily exchanged. If external, you can use any SSD type in a fitting external USB enclosure, the models mentioned above are fine.
You can also keep using your existing external HD. SSDs for music storage are neat and silent, but a spinning HD is just as OK for the purpose.
Any external HD/SSD will be plugged into the NUC. Ideally, you want to use the exFAT disk format.
Fans or not
If you keep it in a different room, fanless and fan are both fine. The fan will rarely start anyway, and if it does you wonāt hear it if itās in a different room. (Well depends on what the room is for, I guess)
I like fanless because it is zero maintenance. With a fan, you need to open the case and clean the fan once in a while (not very often, in a normal environment it will be ok every year or two or three, depending on how much the fan runs and the dust in the environment, but I prefer not having to do it at all. In standard NUC cases the fan is below the mainboard, I think, so a bit of a hassle to get to.)
With a fanless case it is important that its specs for heat dissipation are in line with the model of NUC - the fanless case manufacturer should tell you the right model for a given NUC. My Cirrus7 guys claim that their fanless case provides even better cooling than the standard case with a fan, and indeed it never gets more than handwarm. You donāt want it to get too warm / hot because it is bad for reliability/longevity of the SSDs, so choose wisely in accordance with the specs of NUC and fanless case. Also ensure that the fanless case provides cooling for the SSDs as well (any competent one should, but canāt hurt to doublecheck)
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I thought fanless with Rock is not supported, something to do with needing to modify the bios setting from non-standard and as such support requests would go through the tinkering channel.
I saw @Rugby state that one time, but never before or since (though of course I donāt see every post). That was in this post and surprised me so I asked for clarification but didnāt get one. Nor have I ever seen an official Roon statement to this effect.
Obviously I canāt speak for Rugby or anyone else, but lots of people use a fanless case. I have never seen Roon support reject a legitimate software support case because of a fanless case, including my bug reports in Early Access, for instance. The only thing it could possibly affect would be that it runs too hot if the case is not suitable, but that should not happen with a competent fanless case, and it can also happen with a standard case if the fan is dirty. And it would lead to crashes if it does, not software bugs, network issues, or anything else that is a legitimate support case.
Whether the BIOS settings need to be changed surely depends on the cooling capabilities of the case. As I mentioned, the Cirrus7 guys for instance say that the cooling capabilities of their case are better than the standard fan case and mine never gets more than handwarm, so I donāt see what the problem should be.
Edit:
If the fanless case required it, you may have to turn off Turbo in the BIOS, but the case manufacturer should tell you if necessary. That would make its peaks a bit slower, but I donāt see how it would affect Roon operation (and hence supportability). I searched now for Danny posts mentioning fanless, and I found some where turning off Turbo is mentioned, but I found none where it was stated that this would be an unsupported configuration. If it was, surely Roon would say so on the ROCK specification page, one would hope
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Perhaps Roon staff could clarify? @danny?
While I agree with your summary it really would suck to have future support requests be forced into the tinkering channel just because of an unnecessary fanless case. He did say that the NUC will be in a different room after all.
It would suck for legitimate support requests to be forced into tinkering even if the fanless case was necessary 
This would in fact be so offputting to me that I might stop spending time on the forum for helping people and for testing and reporting issues in EA.
And really, the only effect it would have is that people would simply not say that their case is fanless if they have a support issue
Yeah, and I said fans would be fine. But he was originally also scared of the whole process of building a NUC, and with fans you will have to open the case, get to the fan and clean it once in a while, so that does not seem ideal either. I am not scared of building PCs and even I would not want to do it
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Thanks again to everyone for all the responses. Reading the discussions has helped my understanding enormously.
I have also watched this video, thanks for posting @Mike_O_Neill
Having watched it I have no fear of assembling a NUC, I think even I could do that (famous last words)
However loading the Roon software was, for me, very complicated, and I an not sure about where / how I could get someone to do this for me.
I have thought about buying a secondhand NUC with Roon already installed but most NUCās on offer have Windows already installed. I am still pondering this.
I currently keep my existing music library on a Seagate external HD and I will probably keep this as plug it into the NUC. I would buy a NUC which had scope for a 2nd HD in case one day I change my mind. I donāt use my library that much now as I mostly stream from Qobuz. The library is only about 250GB and I doubt I will add much to it now
Still undecided on Fanless or not.
I forgot to ask where you are. There are some NUCs with ROCK installed in the Sales and Trades category of the forum, like this Cirrus7 (but this one is Europe-only)
I am in the UK
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Maybe you can convince the guy as he has been trying to sell for a while already Itās pretty easy despite Brexit, Iāve done it. When shipping with DHL from EU (where the seller is) to UK, the seller just has to fill out some easy details when buying the shipping on the DHL site, and they have to fill out the UKās CN23 form, which can be found here, and must be affixed to the outside of the parcel:
https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/CN23.pdf
The tariff number for computers can be found here:
The post-Brexit agreement between UK and EU waives nearly all import tariffs though you might have to pay VAT, not sure, but thatās also easy and will either be collected from you on delivery or youāll get an invoice later.
Send a Private Message to @GregD - he still might have a pre-built NUC for sale, and heās in the UKā¦
Thanks but I only want to buy in the UK
Thanks @Geoff_Coupe & @Suedkiez. I do still have a couple pre-built for sale.
@Tim_Emptage you have a PM.
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Where about in the uk, if near me I will gladly help you install ROCK on a NUC.
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I run Roon w/ Qobuz on a Nucleus connected to a Lyngdorf MP-60 2.1 via hardwired ethernet using my network. Itās a simple two box solution (No extra streamer or DAC). Nucleus is remote from MP60. With the new Lyngdorf firmware, āRoon Readyā is a Source option. The Lyngdorf will automatically turn on and accept that source when you activate the Roon app on iPad or PC. Qobuz is an integrated service inside the Roon app. The improved Roon Ready integration also provides limited meta data (title and artist) to the Lyngdorf display. This is a lengthy way of saying that all you need with your system is any NUC or Nucleus with ethernet connection and be sure you have the newest firmware on your Lyngdorf.
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Thanks. I already run Qobuz / Roon using my PC as the core. My question isā¦ at the moment I often have difficulty in connecting to the core (PC) which is running very slowly. Will this problem be solved by having a NUC ?
A nucleus is out of the question on cost grounds
ROCK on a NUC is plenty fast because it does nothing else, no 1000 background processes like on Windows. If the network is OK, it connects immediately
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