Cheapest Computer for Blue Iris

chollz said:
If you're still looking for a computer to run BI, this is the one I am going with. Looks to be a pretty good deal to me.

i5 4570, 8gb RAM, and a Windows 10 License for $185

Dell OptiPlex 3020 Small Form Factor Intel Core i5 4570 3.20 GHz 8 GB DDR3 500GB HDD DVD Windows 10 Pro COA 1 Year Warranty - Newegg.com
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I have this one: HP Pavilion Desktop Tower, Intel Core i7-7700 , 16GB Memory, 2TB Hard Drive, Windows 10 home, 570-p033w

It was $184 brand new.

Next I'm going to need to order an SSD and WD Purple hard drive along with a gigabit PoE switch. Then I'll need to find a decetd UPS. I'm concerned about what's going to happen if there's a power outage while I'm away from the house. I'm going to need to do some research on how to handle that.
 
Walmart.

Brickseek isn't always accurate.. I'd recommend looking for the product yourself and if you can't find it ask someone with a scanner to type in the UPC and see if there is one somewhere in the store or in the back. They might say if they have it they'd have it out but if you find someone nice they might look in the back and happen to find it. The scanner should tell them the location of the item in the back if they have it.

HP Pavilion Desktop i7-7700 , 16GB , 2TB HD, Windows 10 home, 570-p033w - Walmart - YMMV $549 06-05-2018

HP Pavilion Desktop Tower, Intel Core i7-7700 , 16GB Memory, 2TB Hard Drive, Windows 10 home, 570-p033w – Walmart Inventory Checker – BrickSeek
 
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Is this a good option for a PoE switch?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003KP8VSK/

I'm just struggling to understand how the computer is going to get on the internet. I'm assuming I'll need a second switch, one for the internet from the router to the computer and then use a cable to connect that switch to the PoE switch. Is that correct?
 
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scquestions said:
Is this a good option for a PoE switch?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003KP8VSK/

I'm just struggling to understand how the computer is going to get on the internet. I'm assuming I'll need a second switch, one for the internet from the router to the computer and then use a cable to connect that switch to the PoE switch. Is that correct?
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Nothing wrong with the Netgear PoE switch but I have had good luck with the BV brand.

Been using this one for a few years:

https://amzn.to/2N6N5tJ

Recently purchased this one for mounting in my attic due to it's rated operating temperatures.

  • Operating Temperature: -22F – 149F (-30C – 65C)
https://amzn.to/2N1LOnQ
 
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I couldn't find that $184 i7-7700 deal. Is there a direct link somewhere? I might pick one up!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks. Ughh. Hate sketchy stuff like that variable pricing and difficulty getting associates to really check stock.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
DebrodeD said:
Just get what fenderman linked to above and something like that will work great. If those aren't available anymore, this is what you're looking for:
1. A used dell optiplex or hp prodesk/elitedesk
2. i7-6700 or newer i7 (for your setup, an i7-4770 would probably be enough, but not as efficient as the 6700).
3. at least 8 GB of ram
4. A SSD hard drive is preferable, but if it doesn't come with one, just buy one from amazon and upgrade yourself (I actually like this option better because then you can use the old hard drive as clip storage and use the SSD for "new" clips.
5. Look for something less than $350 that checks the above (less than $300 would be ideal).
6. Personal opinion: get something that is "small form factor" (both of Fenderman's now sold options above) so you don't have to deal with a huge desktop tower to put somewhere.
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Yeah...this...except I prefer small towers because they handle heat better than minis and are much easier to throw extra drives in. What I've learned about refurbs is to stick to corporate class desktops like Optiplex's, Precisions and HP's Prodesks etc because these are almost always bought from lease turnovers via corporate buy outs, and the machines often still have warranties left. You can tell because the seller will have a whole pile of them, which tends to tell you it's a corporate turnover. I avoid single deals or home class machines like Inspirons *unless* they are from Dell's scratch and dent site, which is a whole different situation.

Most of my machines and servers are running with SSD's on the system drive. Does make Blue Iris snappier when it comes to browsing clips, but in other respects an SSD doesn't reduce system load so camera capacity is the same. Since I only run Blue Iris on designated 'servers' (server in designation only because desktop Windows works just as good) my system drive size size is tiny (often less than 25GB), so 128GB SDD's suffice and those are getting into the $40 dollar range. The best running and most stable box you can have for Blue Iris is a box that *only* runs Blue Iris, IMO. I've never had Blue Iris crash on me....ever, and I attribute this so having a box dedicated for only Blue Iris and keeping things simple.

For bulk storage I stick to spinners ....my busiest Blue Iris box has 6TB of storage and I have other things to spend money on than 6 TB of SSDs for Tier 2 storage. I also avoid WD because their 'fruit loop' color scheme is mostly obsolete marketing and independant failure ratings don't show any color correlation. Why anybody would buy a 5400 rpm spinner is beyond me anyways.
 
I'm working on getting this $184 computer setup..

I've learned a ton on here..

I have an SSD that should be getting installed tomorrow, along with a 4 TB Purple hard drive. I've learned that the OS should be transferred to the SSD and put Blue Iris and the clip database on the SSD with recordings to be saved to the Purple drive. I'm going to have the router disable Internet access to the computer for security reasons and also disable internet on each camera's IP address. I'll be assigning a static IP address outside of the router's DHCP range. And setting up Open VPN to use the Blue Iris mobile app to view cameras remotely.

Am I missing anything?

I'll be shopping for a UPS for this computer soon. (It has a 180 watt power supply.)

How many 4K cameras (8 MP Lorex), recording at 15 fps, do you think this computer is able to handle? It has an i7-7700 processor and 16 GB of RAM.


Thanks everyone.
 
scquestions said:
I'm working on getting this $184 computer setup..

I've learned a ton on here..

I have an SSD that should be getting installed tomorrow, along with a 4 TB Purple hard drive. I've learned that the OS should be transferred to the SSD and put Blue Iris and the clip database on the SSD with recordings to be saved to the Purple drive. I'm going to have the router disable Internet access to the computer for security reasons and also disable internet on each camera's IP address. I'll be assigning a static IP address outside of the router's DHCP range. And setting up Open VPN to use the Blue Iris mobile app to view cameras remotely.

Am I missing anything?

I'll be shopping for a UPS for this computer soon. (It has a 180 watt power supply.)

How many 4K cameras (8 MP Lorex), recording at 15 fps, do you think this computer is able to handle? It has an i7-7700 processor and 16 GB of RAM.


Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
dont transfer anything...the OS should be installed clean on the ssd.
the size of the power supply is irrelevant to the ups...the pc will use way less than 180w
 
fenderman said:
dont transfer anything...the OS should be installed clean on the ssd.
the size of the power supply is irrelevant to the ups...the pc will use way less than 180w
Click to expand...

I don't know how to install the operating system on the SSD.. The plan (based on my discussion with someone else in another thread) was to transfer everything to the SSD. Right now the computer is on (everything stock) and is updating Windows.

Any idea what wattage should be put in the calculator when looking for a UPS and calculating wattage and runtime?
 
scquestions said:
I don't know how to install the operating system on the SSD.. The plan (based on my discussion with someone else in another thread) was to transfer everything to the SSD. Right now the computer is on (everything stock) and is updating Windows.

Any idea what wattage should be put in the calculator when looking for a UPS and calculating wattage and runtime?
Click to expand...
do not transfer anything...i cannot stress this enough...use the windows media creation tool and PERFORM A CLEAN INSTALL.
depends on the load...likely 50w or so...test with a killawatt meter.
 
fenderman said:
do not transfer anything...i cannot stress this enough...use the windows media creation tool and PERFORM A CLEAN INSTALL.
depends on the load...likely 50w or so...test with a killawatt meter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for telling me this.. because we were going to transfer everything in about sixteen hours..

Is there going to be an issue using the same product key that came with the computer (that is updating right now)?

I'll get a flash drive and set up the media creation tool. Hopefully it'll download with the latest updates!
 
scquestions said:
Thanks for telling me this.. because we were going to transfer everything in about sixteen hours..

Is there going to be an issue using the same product key that came with the computer (that is updating right now)?

I'll get a flash drive and set up the media creation tool. Hopefully it'll download with the latest updates!
Click to expand...
there is no product key with w10...it will auto activate if w10 has previously been activated on the pc.
 
scquestions said:
How is it going to know Windows 10 has been on the computer before if we're putting in an SSD and Purple hard drive?

According to this, a product key is needed: Top Two Ways to Install Windows 10 to SSD
Click to expand...

Just found this: Clean install of windows 10 OS on new SSD-best procedure for eliminating current windwos 10 OS on old hard drive

I don't understand how Microsoft is able to know it's the same computer. I guess some other piece of hardware information (maybe the motherboard) is sent to Microsoft.
 
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