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Going to Build Intel NUC Server Fan or Not?

I will have the server in my listening space although it will be about 14 feet away from my listening spot and situated on a side wall bookcase. I will ethernet connect the NUC server direct to my router and from the router I will fiber optic cable connect to my Weiss 501, my sole source of playback. Do any of you find the fan noise to be an issue? I will most likely go with a 10th generation I7 NUC.

 

 

 

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Showing 3 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,803 posts
 

High TDP processors and real time upsampling can generate a lot of heat that no amount of passive cooling will dissipate.

 

That's kind of my point.  The DSP CPU requirements are rather minimal really, so best to use a low wattage x86-64 CPU.  Honestly 65 watts is a lot these days.

Get a modern 20W CPU like a Celeron and it will be fine.

erik_squires
15,803 posts
 

If you do a Roon server, use an Ubuntu desktop image to set it up, then turn off the GUI afterwards.  That's a pretty lean system.

erik_squires
15,803 posts
 

Well, i think an i7 would be serious overkill in terms of compute power.  I have a 15 year old AMD A10 running Roon with DSP just fine.

If you don't need CPU power, that means you can get really small with your Roon server, both the power supply and lack of fan or large heat sink go away.  Lots of micro PCs out there that should fit the bill.

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