Computer for 4-8 cameras?

[kaivorth]

Was looking to buy a NUC dedicated for Blue Iris.

What do people recommend lately? I bought a beelink N100 to use for my router, wasn't sure if this would be good for a surveillance computer setup, or if I gotta spend a little more for like a Beelink i5-1235U?

Connecting everything to my TP-Link TL-SG2210P V3 switch

 

[TonyR]

NUC's are not recommended for Blue Iris. Much reading about it here ==>> site:ipcamtalk.com nuc blue iris

I recommend you get a good refurbished HP EliteDesk 800 G4 or Dell Optiplex on eBay with at least an 6th gen i5 that meets min specs and is optimized for Blue Iris, especially sub streams.

Perform a clean install of Windows using the MS Media Creation Tool, put the O/S, BI (Blue Iris) and BI's "db" folder on a SSD and send BI video clips to a spinning, surveillance-rated 3.5" HDD such as a WD Purple.

 

[looney2ns]

See this

 

[kaivorth]

So there's not a NUC out there that can do this? Finding that hard to believe

 

[TonyR]

So there's not a NUC out there that can do this? Finding that hard to believe

Oh, any number of them can but the real question is...for how long and at what level of performance?

As you likely know, the harder a PC works, the warmer it gets and the warmer it gets it may have to throttle the CPU to get itself cooler if the CPU fan and the power supply fan (if internal p/s) can't keep it cool enough. And if it gets too warm, it'll shut down to protect itself.

The last thing you want from a PC that you use for surveillance cams is for it to struggle just to keep running; One or two 4MP cams or four or five 2MP cams motion-activated only might be at the upper scale of performance.....any more than that is likely too much for it.

 

[wittaj]

NUCs are not designed for 24/7 operation and the CPU will throttle performance in favor of lower temps.

But don't believe us and come back here one day when your NUC failed or the cpu is pegging 100% or the USB drive not keeping up. We see it all the time.

 

[fenderman]

So there's not a NUC out there that can do this? Finding that hard to believe

Sure they can. But can't do it well without proper onboard storage. But do it your way and pay double or triple add external storage of some kind and report back. Many users use nic or laptops. A modern powerful processor will handle the load no problem.
You want validation for a decision you have already made so go for it.

 

[IAmATeaf]

The main issues as already pointed out are cooling and expandability.

Do your research in terms of your storage requirements and then ensure that whatever you purchase meets these criteria. For example, for me I wanted to ensure that my PC could accommodate 2 full size hard disks for storage.

 

[kaivorth]

I'll probably just get the N100 variant, replace the stock paste with some Arctic Cooling MX-6, and get the largest endurance nvme drive I can

Probably be another month before I do it, I'll report back though when I do

I wasn't looking for validation, just wanted to know the potential issues of going this route, and then doing my best to mitigate those issues

 

[TonyR]

Probably be another month before I do it, I'll report back though when I do

Best of luck and looking forward to your report!

 

[wittaj]

How much are you buying it for?

More than likely a refurbished PC that is built for 24/7 will be cheaper.

Just keep in mind it may not be immediate that you see trouble.

But two months from now when the CPU is pegging at 100% because the 2.5" drive can't keep up or some other reason like you needed to add USB storage or something, remind everyone in your troubleshooting thread you have a NUC lol

 

[kaivorth]

I'll probably keep this a smaller 1-2 camera system to avoid needing external storage, 1-2TB nvme will hopefully be good enough

 

[Rob2020]

A wise man one told me that cameras multiply like rabbits, he was right.

I figured 4 cameras MAX, currently I am at six active cameras and several unmounted new in box looking for a location and finding time to mount and cable them.

 

[fenderman]

A wise man one told me that cameras multiply like rabbits, he was right.

I figured 4 cameras MAX, currently I am at six active cameras and several unmounted new in box looking for a location and finding time to mount and cable them.

sometimes folks need to make mistakes and learn the hard way....

 

[JNDATHP]

Cameras just seem to multiply. I’m at 12 and already thinking about adding another ZE for LPR.

 

[Rob2020]

Cameras just seem to multiply. I’m at 12 and already thinking about adding another ZE for LPR.

One of my unmounted cams is a Dahua (Andy) LPR, can't find a good location based on my house/road layout.