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ROON CORE ADEQUACY

Satyadhara

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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.
 

Satyadhara

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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).
 

staticV3

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Roon states i3 etc on their specs requirements but would this or something similar be sufficient?
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.
 
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Georgeadv

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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.
Thanks

I guess i will get a mac….

They should have allowed for ipads to be used as cores.. that would be great
 
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Georgeadv

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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.
Does not that use an older version of the mac os, currently not supported by roon?
 

GDK

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Does not that use an older version of the mac os, currently not supported by roon?
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.
 

Adaboy4z

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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.
 

DomieMic65

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I too have a Late 2009 Mac Mini (SSD/8gb RAM) and I'm reluctant on using it for Roon.
 

JoachimStrobel

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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
 

JoachimStrobel

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There is a thread about this here:

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
 

DomieMic65

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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!!
 

AnalogSteph

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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).
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.
 

Adaboy4z

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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.
 

DomieMic65

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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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