The new intel NUC i7 looks interesting. But thinking out loud here, a 45TDP Xeon-D mini-itx motherboard with 10Gbase-T could be fun? Ok I'll admit it, it was the 10Gbase-T and 8 core that seemed fun, snappy enough? Not too bad pricewise, could a passive cooler tame 45TDP Watts in a small case? SuperMicro X10SDV-TLN4F
While I like a bit of horsepower to spare in my computing infrastructure, I'm not quite sure I could make genuine use of 10Gb/s connectivity at the moment!
My Roon rig will be my current i7 with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 4TB conventional disc storage. This won't only be used for Roon duties, and I have plenty of other items on my network. But I will still get nowhere near to using up my current 1Gb/s bandwidth.
So a dedicated unit for Roon with 10Gig-E when MHR needs just 4.6 Mb/s seems a little OTT for me. But it certainly leaves room for expansion with the remaining 9995.4 Mb/s....
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Do we know hardware requirements of Roon yet? Didn't someone say it would run on a variety of platforms including those traditionally associated with tablets or phones?
Meridian owner since 1992 Prime & PSU, Focal Elear headphones, Roon (ROCK 8Gi5 NUC), Explorer 1 & 2, F80. 200/203, various Sonos (via Roon).
Would one of you kind, NUC knowledgeable Gents be prepared to do a brief write up for the Wiki of what they are, and what may be needed by Roon, for use in our Meridian systems please?
I'd never heard the term NUC before it came up here in relation to Roon, and I'm sure I can't be alone in that regard!
Main system - Sources (Kodi-HTPC, Vero 4k, FireTV, Sat) into Trinnov Altitude 32 (8-16) (+Roon), Trinnov Amplitude 8 amp & Vivid Audio (Giya G3, V1.5) and REL Stentor III speakers. Others: F80 + Raspberry Pi and other Pi systems.
While you're obviously free to experiment with whatever hardware you see fit for Roon, I think it should be emphasized that despite Roon requiring a little more IT Resources than Sooloos... it still shouldn't be interpreted that Roon is on the same level as e.g. 4k Video Editing or similar processes requiring large computing resources.
My interpretation of what the Roon guys are saying is as follows:
1) For a Headless Server [known as the Core in our Sooloos systems], then a Core i5 [preferably Broadwell or Haswell] along with 8GB of RAM is likely more than sufficient... in fact, for use as a Headless Server, a 2011 Ivy Bridge Core i3 or i5 may also be sufficient... e.g. a 3-4 year old Desktop or Laptop would suffice for this purpose.
2) For the device where the UI is actually being run, the Graphics Processor (GPU) also becomes important... as that is where the UI Graphics are being rendered... but even then, the IT resources for the Roon UI will be satisfied by most 3-5 year old computers.
I think the most appropriate advice for many would be to delay their hardware purchases until they've tried the Roon app on an existing computer... see how it works... and then consider hardware purchases based on how they see Roon performing on that platform.
No doubt you're familiar with the Mac Mini... small footprint; low power usage in standby [particularly for 24/7 usage]; modest to impressive performance depending on the specs chosen at purchase.
These can be used as Desktops in Home and Businesses... but they can also be used as "Entertainment Centres" under a TV at home, particularly as a HTPC or Video Server.
Well the Intel NUC's and the units based on them, are just Windows versions of the Mac Mini... small(er) footprint; low power etc., etc.
The NUC's are typically listed on Amazon et al without Hard Drives and Operating systems, and sometimes without graphic cards... allowing the user to configure the computer to suit their requirements.
However, by the time a NUC is configured with a Drive and OS, the cost difference between the NUC and Mac Mini will typically be pretty small.
NUC's are very handy devices for the more "enthusiastic" and knowledgeable out there... but as they don't necessarily come ready "out of the box", I'm not sure they are the most appropriate devices for everyone.
Good points, Roon state their software will run native on a Windows system and therefore the performance would be better than on a Mac, now how much better is the question? If necessary I would run Windows but would much prefer to run a Mac mini of the appropriate specification.
Thanks very much for that, it's exactly what I needed to know.
If the overall costs are roughly similar, it may make more sense for me to just go with a Mac Mini to integrate with my current Apple devices and iMac (and it seems a late 2012 i7 unit is the spec of choice) But then again, piecemeal upgrades are possible with the NUC approach...
This has wait and see written all over it. It's not like Roon will cause a rush on parts. Maybe one day. If aesthetics and/or form factor are an issue, this might be an option as well.
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