klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 17, 2024 15:55:20 GMT -5
I currently have a very old Dell 660s hooked into my home theater. The only uses are to be my Roon Core and run Dirac. I also have TIDAL on it, and Roon draws from it. But, it's been running slower and slower the past year...and...really slow lately. So, I'm thinking it's time to get something new. I've looked at clearance and refurb options from Microcenter, but I've seen various "mini-PC's" on line. Some have very good reviews, and some have some "troubling" 1-star reviews. One that seems to look very good is this one: GeekomPCThe price is better than even clearance and refurb options at Microcenter, and it's got plenty of ports. Also, it appears to run very quiet. The i5 version with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD should be more than enough. And, it's Windows 11 Pro, and I know my way around that OS (have it on my laptop and office desktop). This one also looks good for my needs: Cheaper GEEKOMPCI got tempted by the GMKtec Mini PC options due to much lower prices (<$170 for something similar to the GEEKOM at goes for $360-ish in specs I'm leaning to), but...the brand seems to get a lot of "worked fine at first, but then died "within 2 weeks, just outside the return period, or a year..." Here's 1 of them: GMKtecAny input on these options or ideas for other options? I do like the idea of a PC that I can wall-mount, like these little ones. It keeps clutter off of my home theater rack. Thanks! Mark |
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 17, 2024 17:39:42 GMT -5
Is that a standard hard drive by the way? dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-660_reference%20guide_en-us.pdfYou can boost performance quite a bit if you can Accommodate an SSD. Solid State Drive. I have an old Lenovo i7 laptop from 2015 and it runs bitchin' with a cheap $50.00 SSD upgrade and yeah you got to put the OS and crap back in it though. Or find out why it is running so slow. If this is a dedicated audio computer and no other stuff like surfing whatever or doing an resource intensive stuff this should be plenty to get it done. Or heck add an SSD if you can at least support SATA. SATA 2 is nicer too. Trying not have to make you spend high bucks if possible. |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 17, 2024 18:00:35 GMT -5
Is that a standard hard drive by the way? dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-660_reference%20guide_en-us.pdfYou can boost performance quite a bit if you can Accommodate an SSD. Solid State Drive. I have an old Lenovo i7 laptop from 2015 and it runs bitchin' with a cheap $50.00 SSD upgrade and yeah you got to put the OS and crap back in it though. Or find out why it is running so slow. If this is a dedicated audio computer and no other stuff like surfing whatever or doing an resource intensive stuff this should be plenty to get it done. Or heck add an SSD if you can at least support SATA. SATA 2 is nicer too. Trying not have to make you spend high bucks if possible. I'm not sure what the old PC's HD is. I think it's an SSD but I'd have to check to be sure. And, I don't want to have to reload the OS onto a new drive...might not have all the right documentation to do it. And, it ran fine until the past few months...now everything is slow to load. It's so slow that Roon struggles to find the core (which is on the PC I'm launching it from). The timing of the slow running coincides with when I had an amp issue with my XPA-5 and my mono-block Hypex amps...wondering if a lightning strike hit them all. And, yes...this is a dedicated audio computer...it just is my Roon Core and runs Dirac on the rare situation I run Dirac. So, that's why I am thinking one of these mini-PC's will be fine even with a low end processor of today's era (I5 or higher). And, with 16 GB of RAM, that's more than the old Dell, and 513 GB of SSD HD is plenty. All music is stored on a central drive that all systems in the house access (several Sonos units, two R-Pi Headphone setups, and 2 PC's). Mark |
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 17, 2024 18:04:18 GMT -5
With low end computers I will usually bork the Win operating system as I really don't need it, and would run Linux and call it a day. I have some thin clients at work they do not know what to do with and may put a Linux Distro on it, and have some fun with some music client goodies. May put in a more capacious SSD and be done. But that is unknown ground. My company is about as easy to understand as RADAR.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 17, 2024 18:14:31 GMT -5
With low end computers I will usually bork the Win operating system as I really don't need it, and would run Linux and call it a day. I have some thin clients at work they do not know what to do with and may put a Linux Distro on it, and have some fun with some music client goodies. May put in a more capacious SSD and be done. But that is unknown ground. My company is about is easy to understand as RADAR. I've dabbled in Linux and just don't know it well enough to know what to do with it. With Windows (esp. W11), I find it easy enough to use and know all the settings I need to use. These days, the sellers pretty much throw in Windows with the gear. If it were not for that, I'd gut an old PC and put in some new parts and throw Windows on it. But, Windows + new internal parts costs more than a new PC! I can't even buy the parts for what a new PC costs! Mark |
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 17, 2024 18:17:09 GMT -5
Yep yep, saving on building your own is a misnomer. You build because you want the computer you want and build to your specs and for the experience, but you will never beat the economies of scale that a company can do in building it for you. I bought mine a Ryzen 7 and I love it and does what I want including editing 4K video like it was easy walk in the park.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 17, 2024 20:35:48 GMT -5
Yep yep, saving on building your own is a misnomer. You build because you want the computer you want and build to your specs and for the experience, but you will never beat the economies of scale that a company can do in building it for you. I bought mine a Ryzen 7 and I love it and does what I want including editing 4K video like it was easy walk in the park. As per my usual, I got impulsive, so I pulled the trigger on this: Impulse PurchaseI had a $10 off coupon, so...had to! I bought a mini-PC years ago without much luck (it was pretty bad - would not set up properly). I got no support from the provider. So, I returned it within days. This one looks much more straight-forward to get running. Wish me luck! Mark |
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Post by LuisV on Mar 17, 2024 21:23:57 GMT -5
Couple of questions... - You indicated that you have a laptop with Windows 10; why not run Dirac from it?
- Why don't you run Roon Core from your Windows 10 desktop?
- Do you have a NAS? Simply asking cause Roon can run as a Docker, so if you have a NAS that supports docker, it might be able to run Roon Core.
You can use a Raspberry PI as a Roon endpoint. Mine runs RoPieee for the OS (free) with a digital HAT. The Pi connects via SPDIF to your AVR / Processor and would eliminate any need of connecting a PC to your HT. ropieee.org/I run Roon Core as a Docker on my NAS and have a Pi with a Hifi Berry DIGI2 Pro hat connected via COAX to my Marantz AVR; I think the Pi / Hat combo cost me around $100. github.com/elgeeko1/roon-server-dockercommunity.roonlabs.com/t/docker-image-for-roon-server/176876In terms of build vs buy; it all depends on your needs. I didn't want to deal with Windows nor macOS for HT use and was looking for plenty of power to run multiple dockers and VMs, so I built my own NAS and used Unraid for the OS; it has a Ryzen 7 5800x CPU with 64GB of RAM. unraid.net/Not sure how Windows and Roon Core will perform with either of those CPUs. Not sure what CPU is in your Dell, so you can add it to compare. www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5157vs4619/Intel-N100-vs-Intel-i7-11390H |
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Post by LuisV on Mar 17, 2024 21:25:34 GMT -5
Yep yep, saving on building your own is a misnomer. You build because you want the computer you want and build to your specs and for the experience, but you will never beat the economies of scale that a company can do in building it for you. I bought mine a Ryzen 7 and I love it and does what I want including editing 4K video like it was easy walk in the park. As per my usual, I got impulsive, so I pulled the trigger on this: Impulse PurchaseI had a $10 off coupon, so...had to! I bought a mini-PC years ago without much luck (it was pretty bad - would not set up properly). I got no support from the provider. So, I returned it within days. This one looks much more straight-forward to get running. Wish me luck! Mark Ha... good luck Mark. Keep us posted... |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 18, 2024 4:08:00 GMT -5
Couple of questions... - You indicated that you have a laptop with Windows 10; why not run Dirac from it?
- Why don't you run Roon Core from your Windows 10 desktop?
- Do you have a NAS? Simply asking cause Roon can run as a Docker, so if you have a NAS that supports docker, it might be able to run Roon Core.
You can use a Raspberry PI as a Roon endpoint. Mine runs RoPieee for the OS (free) with a digital HAT. The Pi connects via SPDIF to your AVR / Processor and would eliminate any need of connecting a PC to your HT. My laptop is W11 (Surface LT5), but I don't want it to be my core...it's not always here at home and other people access the core when I'm not here (wife, kids). It's the aged W10 desktop (Dell 660s) that has been my core and setup for running Dirac. But it's struggling of late w/speed, so that's what I'm replacing. I do have 2 R-Pi's...used as headphone stations, each with a DAC built in. One uses DietPi (Allo Boss build w/DAC), the other uses Ropieee (with HiFiBerry DAC). Great little devices! Mark |
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Post by LuisV on Mar 19, 2024 13:13:07 GMT -5
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 20, 2024 18:00:01 GMT -5
I saw that today also...luckily, I wasn't tempted. It's over $100 more than what I bought (which...so far is working great!). And, mine can run DIRAC also. I don't see that (at least confirmed) re. Nucleus. |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 21, 2024 6:24:56 GMT -5
My GEEKOM Mini IT11 arrived yesterday, and despite me leaving town for a few days - I decided I just had to set it up. So, I connected it to a monitor and keyboard and let Windows 11 Pro run through it's usual startup/setup process. Then, I mapped it to the networked drive I store my music on. I started to install Roon and make the Mini the core, but it was getting late so I'll do that once home again Monday.
But, overall, it's a very nice little PC. Very quiet (I only heard the slightest sound as it was booting - after than, not a peep!), more than fast enough, 16 GB of RAM should be plenty for what it will be doing, and a 512 GB SSD is more than ample for the mininal softwares that will be on it (and it won't be storing any data). For $389...I'm calling this a good buy!
And, once I get home, my new Emotiva XPA7-3-2s will be here so I can hook it up, re-do DIRAC, and make the Mini my Roon core. I also got a new belt and power supply for my 80's era Thorens TD166 MKii, so I'll be able to spin some vinyl again!
I'm looking forward to my system being fully functional again!
Mark
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2024 9:49:38 GMT -5
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Post by LuisV on Mar 25, 2024 10:59:22 GMT -5
Been running Core as a docker from NAS for years now... zero issues. |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Apr 1, 2024 16:34:54 GMT -5
I finally got the Geekom Mini IT11 running right as my ROON core. I had some issues with ROON and interfacing with my 86" LG TV...ROON is picky about screen resolution and it gives misleading messages. And, the cursor speed was way too fast...so fast that it was hard to even get to the settings to adjust it! Finally got it below light speed, and it's reasonable now.
Once I resolved those issues, I'm really liking this MiniPC. It's very fast, has the latest Windows, and is very quiet. And, best of all - it's hanging on the wall beside my home theater gear. So, it's out of the way.
Mark
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