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ROON CORE ADEQUACY

Difficult to say, as it depends which Roon features you want to use. If you're planning on using DSP, for example, get something with better specs.
 
Then get something more powerful as a core. I have an Innuos Zen MkII, which has an Intel Quad Core processor and 4GB DDR3 RAM, and when I use EQ it gets to its limits at high sample rates (192kHz).
 
Georgeadv said:
Roon states i3 etc on their specs requirements but would this or something similar be sufficient?
Click to expand...
No not really. A 2 Core, 2 Thread CPU with 6W TDP from six years ago with 4GB of RAM will be infuriatingly slow even for the simplest tasks.

You should aim for a 4C/8T CPU and at least 8GB RAM.
 
staticV3 said:
No not really. A 2 Core, 2 Thread CPU with 6W TDP from six years ago with 4GB of RAM will be infuriatingly slow even for the simplest tasks.

You should aim for a 4C/8T CPU and at least 8GB RAM.
Click to expand...
Thanks

I guess i will get a mac….

They should have allowed for ipads to be used as cores.. that would be great
 
GDK said:
I used a 2009 Mac Mini that I picked up for C$200 on EBay for a Roon core without any issues. The stated required specifications are massively overdone.
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Does not that use an older version of the mac os, currently not supported by roon?
 
Georgeadv said:
Does not that use an older version of the mac os, currently not supported by roon?
Click to expand...
It uses Yosemite and it works fine. I should mention that I am currently using Legacy 1.8 and not Arc 2.0 as I am worried that the Mac Mini will run out of puff eventually (and I don’t intend to use Arc), but I was part of the 2.0 trial and it again worked fine then.
 
I just purchased one of the Beelink Ser 5 Ryzen 5 5600H Mini PC on Amazon under $500. Ready to go out of the box(Windows 11 Pro) and small enough to fit behind a TV or monitor. They have cheaper versions under $400.
 
I too have a Late 2009 Mac Mini (SSD/8gb RAM) and I'm reluctant on using it for Roon.
 
I got this one. Will unpack and install on Xmas.
MeLE Quieter 3Q Lüfterloser Mini-PC N5105, Kleiner Computer, DDR4, Win11, Dual HDMI 4K, 2,4G/5G Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, BT 5.2, USB 3.2 * 4, SSD, VESA-Halterung (8G /128G) https://amzn.eu/d/6AegbxK
 
There is a thread about this here:
community.roonlabs.com

Can Roon Core Run on MeLE-Quieter3Q with Celeron N5105 and 8G RAM?

I use a Ferrum Hypsos to power the Q3C (that I already use for another device) via the recently launched splitter/adaptor.
community.roonlabs.com community.roonlabs.com

I plan to use it with Win11 and as Roon server. I currently run Roon on a 2009 PC and it works good. It is just loud and will wear out eventually
 
Finally taking advantage of their 3 month 2$ offer I installed Roon server 1.8 (2.0 was not compatible) on my late 2009 MacMini/8GB RAM/SSD.
I use two end points:
1) Rpi3b/ropieeeXL/Allo_Digione
2) Rpi4/4GB with Roonbridge enabled on Gentooplayer (Diretta Host) and second Rpi4/2GB for Diretta Target.

It seems to work OK. The Mac does not get very hot and it’s reasonably fast.
I let it scan my local library on my NAS while I’m getting used to the interface on my tablet.
I admit that it has a premium feel and it sounds nice!!
 
Satyadhara said:
Then get something more powerful as a core. I have an Innuos Zen MkII, which has an Intel Quad Core processor and 4GB DDR3 RAM, and when I use EQ it gets to its limits at high sample rates (192kHz).
Click to expand...
Mind you, that seems to be an Atom-based Pentium or Celeron (maybe Bay Trail, possibly a Pentium N3510), with all the oomph of a... Core 2 Duo from 2007 (and in single threaded workloads, not even that - which probably explains why the late 2009 Mac Mini with a C2D P7550, P8700 or P8800 works OK, it's still almost twice as fast single-thread).

Compared to that, a Celeron N5105 actually is a rocket ship (3-4 times as fast). It's roughly comparable to an i5-2400. Yes, the i3-1115G4 in a NUC11 will be about 60% faster again, but the relative gap isn't nearly as large.
 
I've had a couple Celeron based PCs and will never do that again. They where just to sluggish but that was 14 years ago. Processors have come along way.
 
Just an update..
On my old Mac mini Roon took almost a day to scan and “do it’s thing” to my library!
I didn’t have the chance yet to see how fast (or slow) will it be on normal use.
I will not apply any DSP .. the synchronization between my to end points was okay. No glitches…
Generally I’m somewhat impressed by the old Mini..
 
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