Going to Build Intel NUC Server Fan or Not?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.