Going to Build Intel NUC Server Fan or Not?

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.

I was intending to use the 12700K for my music server build and looked into setting PL1 at 65W. Performance at 65W is on par with a Ryzen 5800x, so good enough for DSD256 using the lighter modulators and filters in HQPlayer. I am going a different route now using a 3rd gen Intel scalable processor with a TDP of 150W.

Do you use HQPlayer? I can upsample to DSD256 in Roon with my 2011 MacBook Pro with only a dual core processor. HQPlayer is a different beast, however.

You can set the MIN-MAX TDP to 65 for the new i7-12700 chip. I have been running my passive cooled audio server for a few weeks now, upsampling all FLACs to DSD 512 and I have never seen Core Temp exceed 60C.

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

@sonic79 ,

You can set the MIN-MAX TDP to 65 for the new i7-12700 chip. I have been running my passive cooled audio server for a few weeks now, upsampling all FLACs to DSD 512 and I have never seen Core Temp exceed 60C.

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.

The reason I am considering this DIY Roon server build is because sometimes my small green computer I5 server loses its handshake with the Roon program and then it is a pain in the butt to reestablish the connection. My I5 has a 64 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM. I never get any drop outs but there is an added layer of software complexity there that I wouldn’t mind eliminating by running only one program. I have added two fiber media converter boxes with a fiber optic cable to connect my router to my Weiss 501. Formerly I  used just one run of ethernet cable and for a few hundred dollars I tried this experiment with fiber optics. I could immediately hear the difference in the sound quality as more details were revealed and spatial cues increased. I’m guessing that means the noise floor was reduced.

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.

@tuberist Understood. I'm using a sonicTransporter i5 w/ 1TB from smallgreencomputer.com. Probably a little more expensive than the NUC though not by much. It might be worth a look. 

Good luck!

@tuberist How are you connecting fibre optic to Weiss?

Rhg, this NUC build is only to run Roon

If you can properly control temperatures passively then fanless is ideal. Audible noise will not be a concern, but fans do produce vibrations and EMI. There is something to be said about keeping components cool, and active cooling can counteract the drawbacks of spinning fans. High TDP processors and real time upsampling can generate a lot of heat that no amount of passive cooling will dissipate.

A NUC serving native files will have no problem being passively cooled.

@tuberist definitely fanless. What s/w are you running on the NUC?
Thanks!

Thank you audio Troy but I have no interest in spending many thousands of dollars for a server to run one program

• you can build your own however your sound qualty will still be very limited we sell the roon nucleus we also sell the 432evo servers the evos sound far better

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect nj

us importers 432evo music servers

Thanks for all the advice. I will go with a fanless Akasa touring FX case

Go fanless, if possible. Fans always get noisier. If the build requires a fan (for heat management reasons), then it can be replaced once you start noticing the sound. 

Mil

t hanks for all the info

@tuberist ,

I recently built a fanless server. Why not use the latest i7 chip?
Audio server build