BlueIris i7-7700T CPU Usage

[GlennNZ]

Hi all,

Have been running BI for some years - all going well - great software.

Was using a hyper-V VM with a number of Xeon E5-2600 cores servicing BI well. Increased to 10 4MP Cameras and was pushing this system - though would move to low wattage i7 to minimise power usage and heat generated.

After some reading here:
Bought:
Optiplex 7050 i7-7700T.
64 Bit Windows 10.
8gig RAM
Blue Iris only installed

Removed license from old BI VM, reinstalled license
Import reg file/settings.
and CPU died (immediately maxing out at 100%)

Installed all drivers/video/chipset/Intel Hd 630 etc.

Dropped all 10 Cameras (all Dahuas using h264) to 1080p (some where 4MP), Frame rate of 25, iframe of 25. Changed to Variable bit rate.

Using Direct-Disk for all. (mp4 format)
Using Intel-HA for all. (VPAP off)
Using Remote Desktop.


After doing this (mainly the 1080p change) drops CPU to 45%-55% (35% minimum at times)
I also have three groups setup/back/front/outside - does this impact usage?

From the BI info screen I get a total of
9431kB/S and 597.9 MP/s
(with all the groups included)

Is this expected? Seems somewhat high given the previous reports of hardware?
Anything that I could do?

Thanks

Glenn

 

[devastator]

25 fps is really a lot. Try changing it to 15 or even 12, that is more than enough.

 

[GlennNZ]

Thanks for the reply

Yes I could drop the fps or delete/disable a few cameras and you are right the CPU usage improves.

But is ~50% CPU with 10 cameras and 597 MP/s expected or is something else afoot?

Glenn

 

[looney2ns]

The T version of the processor is a "power optimized" version, which has less horsepower than a straight I7-7700, which is recommended to avoid.

Also, if you use the BI video recording format instead of mp4, it will improve CPU usage.

The use of Remote Desktop also adds significant load on the cpu.

minimizing the Viewing window also lowers cpu usage.

15FPS is plenty.

 

[bp2008]

Make sure you have limited the live video preview frame rate (Blue Iris Options > Cameras tab) to something low like 5 FPS, as Blue Iris uses extremely CPU-intensive methods to draw video to the screen. Best, in fact, to run BI as a service and only have the GUI open when you need it.

15 FPS is the highest I can possibly recommend. Diminishing returns and all that.

My i7-3770K runs ... what was it ... 680 MP/s (I'm not at home right now) I think, at about 30% usage with the GUI closed. If I open the GUI on my 4K monitor, with a frame rate limit of only 6, CPU usage doubles.

Using camera groups should not significantly affect performance unless you have some remote viewing client streaming them.

 

[bp2008]

I bet the i7-7700T is not able to sustain its turbo speed of 3.8 GHz under heavy usage like this. The base clock rate of 2.9 GHz is much lower, and would put the CPU firmly into i5-level performance.

 

[GlennNZ]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes the CPU usage is when running as service without the GUI open - what I am reporting is the blueiris process usage from task manager. I have changed to BVR format without any noticeable change.

FPS - point taken - but I suppose the question is why is this not scaling so well (i wonder whether it may be a reflection of the single stick memory issue reported previously? - I have 8gig as single stick)

I'll pull up some CPU marks but the i7-7700T is not slow, and does use 35W - which is the whole point of a low power, cooler system. Not sure that the peak turbo speed would tie into this - but I am asking these questions because I don't know.
PassMark - Intel Core i7-7700T @ 2.90GHz - Price performance comparison

(CPU mark 9368, with i5-3570K 7000)

The other aspect is scaling - if I disable 5-6 cameras essentially I have very little ~5% CPU usage - enabling cameras one at a time grows CPU usage about 5% at a time - ending up at 40-50%. This does seem a reasonably big increment given the starting point with 4-5 cameras enabled.

I have bought another 8gig memory stick to add and see if dual lanes/channels/bandwidth (not sure whether any of those are real aspects) may help here.

Glenn

 

[fenderman]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes the CPU usage is when running as service without the GUI open - what I am reporting is the blueiris process usage from task manager. I have changed to BVR format without any noticeable change.

FPS - point taken - but I suppose the question is why is this not scaling so well (i wonder whether it may be a reflection of the single stick memory issue reported previously? - I have 8gig as single stick)

I'll pull up some CPU marks but the i7-7700T is not slow, and does use 35W - which is the whole point of a low power, cooler system. Not sure that the peak turbo speed would tie into this - but I am asking these questions because I don't know.
PassMark - Intel Core i7-7700T @ 2.90GHz - Price performance comparison

(CPU mark 9368, with i5-3570K 7000)

The other aspect is scaling - if I disable 5-6 cameras essentially I have very little ~5% CPU usage - enabling cameras one at a time grows CPU usage about 5% at a time - ending up at 40-50%. This does seem a reasonably big increment given the starting point with 4-5 cameras enabled.

I have bought another 8gig memory stick to add and see if dual lanes/channels/bandwidth (not sure whether any of those are real aspects) may help here.

Glenn

Have you tested cpu consumption without remote desktop? Try using the blue iris mobile app to see cpu consumption while remote desktop is disabled.

 

[GlennNZ]

Have you tested cpu consumption without remote desktop? Try using the blue iris mobile app to see cpu consumption while remote desktop is disabled.

Thanks for the reply and your previous advice to others which I have followed to get this far.

Yes CPU usage from BI remote is 35-50% (with no logged on users, nor rdp running)

Does seem like BI is moving and deleting files fairly regularly on reviewing its logs - and will clear out the file storage area to see if that improves anything.

Edit:
Found this single dual channel memory summary - some of which may be playing a role.
Dual-channel vs. Single-channel, does it matter?


Glenn

 

[bp2008]

Yeah, single vs dual channel memory can make a difference in some situations, and this certainly could be one. Be careful with which slots you put the RAM in on the motherboard (if the board has more slots than you have sticks) because it does matter. The manual for the board, if you can find it, should have guidance on which slots to use for which memory configurations.

 

[Mike.in.Minnesota]

To be expected.

I currently have about 8 older Foscam FI8918W on BI. cpu during day is about 16%, 2-6% at night.

I added a Amcrest 2mp IP2m 841, and it increased cpu by 15% just for the one camera. This was 29.97fps & full 1080p! It was awesome! Changing to 15fps didn;t save that much cpu. It was the bitrate that saved. But, adding another 7 at those settings is not feasible, let alone 4mp cameras. So, why purchase a 2mp camera to lower it down to 720p and 15fps, or, 1080p at a low birrate? Not worth the $ for me.

To utilize several 2mp or 4mp cameras at even 15fps would require a top end processor, buss, and hard drives. I'll stick with the FI8918's for now.

 

[GlennNZ]

Not sure that I agree - see other threads about x24-40 1080p cameras at 15fps running without major CPU usage.

So far:
Have downgraded Cameras to 15fps (also probably some image improvement given bitrate limits I suspect ie. 15fps at 8192 versus 25fps at 10912)
All set to 1080p
CBR maximum settings, iframes of 15
Running on Dell Optiplex Micro Intel i7-7700T
Upgraded to dual channel 16 gigs ram (added another 8gig stick)
Intel HD for all
Direct to Disk for all

And with these changes (primary the fps to 15, but additional/dual channel ram seemed to add 3-5% improvement)....

I have CPU 10-14% whenever I have checked - also running pretty cool and using <35Watts for the CPU!

Thanks for everyone's input.

Glenn

 

[fenderman]

To be expected.

I currently have about 8 older Foscam FI8918W on BI. cpu during day is about 16%, 2-6% at night.

I added a Amcrest 2mp IP2m 841, and it increased cpu by 15% just for the one camera. This was 29.97fps & full 1080p! It was awesome! Changing to 15fps didn;t save that much cpu. It was the bitrate that saved. But, adding another 7 at those settings is not feasible, let alone 4mp cameras. So, why purchase a 2mp camera to lower it down to 720p and 15fps, or, 1080p at a low birrate? Not worth the $ for me.

To utilize several 2mp or 4mp cameras at even 15fps would require a top end processor, buss, and hard drives. I'll stick with the FI8918's for now.

You are either running a very low power cpu or dont know what you are doing...
This has been discussed many times...
You MUST use direct to disk recording.
If your cpu supports quicksync you need to enable hardware acceleration.
4mp cams are terrible at night and low light...higher megapixels is not always better.
Finally, only inexperienced users "need" 30fps, 15fps is WAY more than enough..you are wasting storage space by running higher bitrates to compensate for higher fps.
You can easily run many 4mp cameras if you have a decent pc and know how to set it up..

 

[Mike.in.Minnesota]

Still learning. OMG so many options.
I do use Direct to disc. My cpu is AMD, so QS is not an option I think.
Yes, I've learned that the light and bitrate are important.
What the hell is HLS? It's not in the help!

Ken is doing a great job. Learning curve is steep.

Planning on building a new system based on an I7-7700.

 

[fenderman]

Still learning. OMG so many options.
I do use Direct to disc. My cpu is AMD, so QS is not an option I think.
Yes, I've learned that the light and bitrate are important.
What the hell is HLS? It's not in the help!

Ken is doing a great job. Learning curve is steep.

Planning on building a new system based on an I7-7700.

Your problem is a low power AMD...You don't need an i7... Don't waste your money...A 300 dollar haswell or Skylake i5 is more than enough for your load...

 

[Mike.in.Minnesota]

ok. But, a Cadillac limo still gets you to where your going...

 

[fenderman]

ok. But, a Cadillac limo still gets you to where your going...

Yes, waste your money..that makes sense...
Instead buy better cameras than the shit foscams...

 

[Mike.in.Minnesota]

Stopped buying those Foscams a few years ago.

Also Reolink! Tested and sent back, along with the Amcrest 2mp. What I'm looking for is a 2mp pt, possibly ptz. i dont; care if the cam can look behind itself, but it must be able to look downward (upward upside down) at a decent angle.
Looking for better cameras by browsing through these forums to find what others are getting... the good... the bad.

On a side note... I do have a 6-side-door Cadillac Deville limo! A nice ride and a head turner. Thinking of putting it on a 4x4 chassis. But, I'm 61 and would prob take me a few more years to get around to it. By then, I prob wouldn't be able to climb into it! lol. Ah well.