Blue Iris Hardware Recommendations

[bp2008]

That being said, can anyone help me ballpark the max number of 4mp cameras I can run on a i7-8700K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.7 GHz processor? Probably do Direct to Disk 24/7 recording. Probably will enabled motion detection for alerting during certain profiles (away, night, etc..)

You can calculate your total megapixels per second and compare against some of the results here:
Blue Iris Update Helper
Type "8700K" into the search box in the CPU Model column to filter to only 8700K results. Click on any row to bring up full details about what cameras and settings were used. Some of the systems are using far-from-optimal settings.

16 (cameras) * 4 (megapixels) * 30 (FPS) = 1920 MP/s which is more than you'll be able to run through one i7-8700K system. I believe the limit of Quick Sync video is in the area of 1500 MP/s, plus once you hit 50% CPU utilization on a processor with hyperthreading, usage rises much faster from there. Reduce the FPS to 15 and you're down to 960 MP/s which should be no problem.

 

[ds1018]

T

You can calculate your total megapixels per second and compare against some of the results here:
Blue Iris Update Helper
Type "8700K" into the search box in the CPU Model column to filter to only 8700K results. Click on any row to bring up full details about what cameras and settings were used. Some of the systems are using far-from-optimal settings.

16 (cameras) * 4 (megapixels) * 30 (FPS) = 1920 MP/s which is more than you'll be able to run through one i7-8700K system. I believe the limit of Quick Sync video is in the area of 1500 MP/s, plus once you hit 50% CPU utilization on a processor with hyperthreading, usage rises much faster from there. Reduce the FPS to 15 and you're down to 960 MP/s which should be no problem.

This is exactly the sort of answer I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[emersonvier]

Hi This is good for 8 Dahua IPC-HDW4231EM

HP Pavilion 570-P020 MT i5-7400-3GHz 8GB 1TB - $399.99 + $5 standard shipping

HP Pavilion 570-P020 Mini Tower 300W
INTEL:i5-7400/CI5-3GHz
8GB/1-DIMM
1TB/7200RPM
Win10 Home

 

[sjamieso]

I can't recommend the Ubiquiti Toughswitch Pro enough. I've completed over 30 blue iris installs and the versatility of the ubiquiti toughswitch is awesome. It's a managed switch, allowing you to access it via web interface, you can remote reboot cameras via the switch or even setup automated reboots if it loses connection with the camera. There is no bulky power supply (it's built into the switch) and they have PLENTY of power. I had used TP-Link green switches in the past and had issues with not enough power loading them up with cameras. It is also a VLAN capable switch if you want to put your camera network on a different subnet. If you are going to purchase a PoE switch do yourself a huge favor and just start with the toughswitch.

I cant afford the 24 port ubiquity switch (For $550+++) that I want but i was eyeing up this smaller 8 port switch as a second to compliament my cheap dlink 8 port POE, since I am rapidly running out of POE room on my current 8 port.. lol I just purchased one of the ubiquity wireless access points for my home system and I am in love with their web interface. From my humble computer geekdom in my basement the interface has lots of clear data and easy to use tools.

 

[Nalith]

Hi. I'm relatively new to Blue Iris and NVR's in general. Could you confirm if BI would be able to use hardware acceleration on a Intel "NUC NUC7i7BNH Intel Core i7" (7th Generation Kabylake Core i7-7567U up to 4.00GHz Processor / Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650)? Must the CPU have Intel HD Graphics on chip or would the Intel Iris Plus work? My goal is to have a small footprint as possible and will probably have 6-8 2-4 MP HD cameras on the system.

 

[bp2008]

You can google any CPU model and look at the feature list on ark.intel.com for Quick Sync Video which is what Blue Iris uses for hardware acceleration. Intel® Core™ i7-7567U Processor (4M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz) Product Specifications

A NUC isn't the best choice though since it costs a lot more and doesn't have room for even one standard sized hard drive.

 

[Clegg]

That and BI really struggles with mobile spec processors (the U series and such)... I've yet to get BI to do hardware offloading successful on any U spec proc even when they support quicksync and are gen 4+ procs.

 

[therealmckellar]

@fenderman You were right, the 4670k isn't cutting it especially when you get above 6 cameras. I ordered a 4790 that I have to install but I was just thinking, I have a 4770k inside of my main computer. Is there any benefit for me to use the 4790 over swapping the 4770k into my Blue Iris pc? Both support quicksync and hyperthreading. I have 10 cameras right now and plan to max out at 12.

I was thinking I could transfer my 4770k into the Blue Iris PC and use the 4790 as a small upgrade for my daily pc.

 

[fenderman]

@fenderman You were right, the 4670k isn't cutting it especially when you get above 6 cameras. I ordered a 4790 that I have to install but I was just thinking, I have a 4770k inside of my main computer. Is there any benefit for me to use the 4790 over swapping the 4770k into my Blue Iris pc? Both support quicksync and hyperthreading. I have 10 cameras right now and plan to max out at 12.

I was thinking I could transfer my 4770k into the Blue Iris PC and use the 4790 as a small upgrade for my daily pc.

What are the resolution and frame-rates of your camera

 

[bp2008]

@therealmckellar

4790 and 4770K are almost identical. 4790 is theoretically a tiny bit faster at stock, but the 4770K is overclockable so you could make it into the faster of the two if you wanted.

Whichever one you use, it is going to look at first like it is about twice the speed of the 4670K, because of hyperthreading. But hyperthreading doesn't actually double the CPU's capabilities. What you will probably see is the CPU usage rising much faster once you pass 50%.

I looked through your post history to see you are probably using 2MP cameras at 30 FPS. You might be able to pull off 10 of them if you have other settings optimized well enough, but be aware you might still need to cut back on the frame rates. You can either do this directly (in the camera's web interface) or indirectly by utilizing Blue Iris's "Limit decoding" feature. These optimizations are described in detail here: Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage | IP Cam Talk

 

[therealmckellar]

Im using 6x @ 2mp/15fps, 2x @ 3mp/15fps, and another 2x 4mp/15fps

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[fenderman]

Im using 6x @ 2mp/15fps, 2x @ 3mp/15fps, and another 2x 4mp/15fps

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

You should be able to run this on your i5-4670k....are you using direct to disk and hardware acceleration?

 

[therealmckellar]

You should be able to run this on your i5-4670k....are you using direct to disk and hardware acceleration?

I can, and no I decided not to. The computer is fine but im trying to future proof. The 4770k has the same benefits as the 4790, hyper threading and quick sync, right?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[bp2008]

I can, and no I decided not to.

No to which? He asked about two things.

The 4770k has the same benefits as the 4790, hyper threading and quick sync, right?

Yes. Like I said they are almost identical. The difference is their stock clock speeds, obviously, and overclocking support. The 4790 models are a tiny bit newer than the 4770 models but otherwise no different feature-wise.

 

[Emil Vals]

I had i5-4590 and I upgraded to i7-4770 and it made a huge difference. I'm running 16 cameras now @ 1080P 25FPS and the CPU load is around 50%.

 

[Robertctaft]

Can someone help me find a computer on eBay? I’ve been looking but don’t know enough about what to get and what to avoid.

I have 6 8MP cameras (don’t know if I need to use full resolution) and am looking to spend ~$200. I was thinking an i5-6500 but not sure and haven’t found one in my price range.

Help much appreciated!

 

[fenderman]

Can someone help me find a computer on eBay? I’ve been looking but don’t know enough about what to get and what to avoid.

I have 6 8MP cameras (don’t know if I need to use full resolution) and am looking to spend ~$200. I was thinking an i5-6500 but not sure and haven’t found one in my price range.

Help much appreciated!

if going with a 6th gen system you will want at least an i7-6700 for that load. 200 wont cut it. Youll have to drop down to a 4th gen i7 if that is your budget.

 

[Scottykarate]

I assume an i5 7400 with 8GB , 7200 rpm and 16 GB Optane will suffice for 6 IPC-HDW5231R-ZE?

 

[fenderman]

I assume an i5 7400 with 8GB , 7200 rpm and 16 GB Optane will suffice for 6 IPC-HDW5231R-ZE?

more than enough...though I would remove the optane, and add a 60 dollar 250gb SSD from samsung/crucial/intel

 

[Scottykarate]

more than enough...though I would remove the optane, and add a 60 dollar 250gb SSD from samsung/crucial/intel

Yeah, I wondered about the Optane. I've never worked with them. When buying something like a Dell refurb that comes with both SSD and mechanical HDD, do they usually load the OS on the SSD?