Computer for Blue Iris

A

Andy

Young grasshopper
Aug 16, 2014
36
11
North Haven CT
I'm in the process of designing a security system for my home.

I'm probably going to start with 8 3 MP cameras and possibly expand to 16.

In reading the posts and Blue Iris system requirements it appears that and i7 is recommended. Is that really necessary for decent performance?

I CPU power or is memory more important. What's the least powerful CPU you are running that affords decent performance?

Am I better off running Windows 7 Pro or 8.1 Pro?

Any suggestions as to where to purchase a computer?

Thanks for you halp

Andy
 
You will definitely need an i7 for your setup. Make sure its a modern fourth generation haswell i7, like the i7-4770 not the older first or second gens.
Memory is not all that important right now as Blue iris is 32bit, however blue iris will be released as a 64 bit app by years end (or so its rumored, the developer, in his update notes, has said that he is working on the 64 bit app)...4 is enough for the 32 bit version...you may want to just get 8 to future proof it...(you can always add ram..) Here is an example system for only 549 http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/10ALX003US/445
Do not get a system with discrete video...it will not help performance and it sucks power and will be another point of heat and failure.
I prefer windows 8.1 its lighter and a bit faster just install classic shell to get back the start menu.
I prefer using refurbished business class machines purchased from their ebay or from the manufacturers outlet, from dell, hp or lenovo, they are built really well and the dells and hp's usually come with a 3 year next business day ONSITE warranty which cannot be beat.
Here is another example http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...arch.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfb&cs=28&puid=f315e364
Note that the description has an error, the drive is not 500gb solid state, its a hybrid drive, with 8gb flash...regardless they provide a good value.

Here is another http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiPl...1307619400?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item417f3da048
Another option you have is to buy your cameras from one manufacturer like dahua or hikvision and use their own software, PSS or IVMS respectively which use in camera motion detection and you could use an i3 for that....i prefer the options in blue iris.

When getting a machine if you want to add hard drives make sure it has room...like a mini tower, (some small form factors allow for one extra drive as well, but not all)
 
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My links were to outlet deals, so they expire when they are sold...look at the dell and lenovo outlets.
 
That system should do it for you, Andy. The specs are definitely stacked in favor of RAM though. Most of it will go to waste unless you have some especially RAM-hungry thing for that system to do (Blue Iris is NOT such a thing). You might seriously consider borrowing half the RAM out of it to upgrade another system if you have any others using DDR3. If you do this, just be sure you know what you are doing. You want to leave in an even number of RAM sticks (for speed reasons) and it does matter which slots you take them from.
 
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Andy said:
I found this i7 with 32G RAM 1 TB Hard Drive and a 24" monitor at Costco It also has integrated graphics.
http://www.costco.com/Acer-Veriton-...indows-7-Professional-.product.100118505.html
I ordered one for my system. It is the best deal I could find
Click to expand...
Did you look at the CyberpowerPC Desktop Configurator? I think this is what I will use/buy.
http://costco.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CSINTEL1
It may be a little more expensive but there are a lot of options! You can get a SSD and they will sell a system without Windows if you are a GNU/Linux user.
The only downside is the wacky cases they offer!
Of course you have to be a Costco member.
 
But you don't need a big gaming pc (like that cyberpower) to do nvr duty. Options are cool, but many of us strive for something a bit less flashy, more compact and more power efficient. Rather than feeding the electric meter ;)

That acer bundle would be hard to beat, unless you can find a similar system without monitor and with a bit less RAM for whatever discount that display would net.
 
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Yeah, I outgrew light-up cases with acrylic windows on them quite some time ago. Now I buy cases that have foam on the inside of the door to block noise!

I think Andy got a better deal on his system, honestly, given the (ridiculous) prices of memory these days. Of course if most of that memory goes to waste then it is moot.
 
Having spent over 10 years in IT there is never too much memory or storage. I also like the big monitor. I'm going to hang it on the wall in my utility room, with batterybackup, networking and home control. If we loose power my SMA inverters will supply 3000 watts of AC during the day to keep the batteries charged. The Acer also has low power draw without a heavy CPU load. We'll see.


  • Three year limited warranty, one year onsite warranty.
Also Costo gives it a 2 year warranty

I did a lot of searching before I settled on it. Ordered it this morning and got notice it has already shipped.
I've never played with Blue Iris but I've used and coded lots of software.

Next step Cameras and networking.


Andy
 
I think the Acer will serve you well.

Certainly won't disagree with the fact that cpu power, ram and storage are good to have in supply and reserve; but I typically don't see a need to go above 8 or 16GB RAM in general. In terms of the single task that the nvr system I assume is dedicated to do, it would be a waste of money to go spend hundreds on extra RAM, as is typically charged when you modify a pre-config'd system that only has 2 or 4 by default. But, hey if it includes more RAM for the same great price, I would take it too :) One might take some out for another machine ;)
 
As I mentioned elsewhere in the forum, I am a Xeoma user. I'm trying to figure out why all the CPU horsepower is needed for Blue Iris? I run four cameras on Xeoma using a HP T5730 thin client (AMD Semperon 2100+ with 1GB RAM running WinXPe) that also runs our IP phone system. It averages around 10% CPU utilization with the four cameras running. Playback and review obviously spike this but motion detect and record don't change CPU utilization at all. If I turn on the Time/Date stamping option for each frame it will max out the thin client. Running a desktop 24/7/365 gets to be expensive. I didn't want to pay the electric bill for a desktop. The thin client uses 17 watts of power and it's external 2.5" USB drive consumes less than 1 watt. It doesn't sound like I could run this light on the hardware with Blue Iris.
 
What are the cameras? I'm guessing they are 640x480 with jpeg or mjpeg video. It is also possible that Xeoma's motion detection does not analyze every frame, which could lead to some really low CPU usage.

FYI Diggs you probably know this already but there are a lot of Intel NUC systems out there that run on ~17 watts and are several times faster. Intel NUC DN2820FYKH is less than 10 watts! Of course who wants to drop an extra $400+ when it might take 10 years to make up for it in electricity savings...
 
Great topic. I've recently added more cameras and realize it's time for an upgrade as I'm taxing the cpu. I only need a new cpu, motherboard, memory. I plan to install a crucial M500 SSD for the OS (W8.1), with additional hard drives for data that I'm currently using. Is the i7-4770 the only recommendation? I like the price. Any motherboards to recommend?
 
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And new hardware releases put downward pressure on existing equipment, so even if you don't get the latest greatest (which can be quite poor value / very cost ineffective if under utilized from the get-go), stuff keeps sliding down the scale price.

( I'm way out of the loop though to give cpu/mobo recommendations )
 
When dealing with CPUs (intel CPUs anyway) the prices almost never drop. Used/refurbished system prices tend to drop, but it does not sound like Nanookofthenorth is looking for one of these.

Since we just switched to page 2, here is that link again about the new Haswell-E CPUs and DDR4 memory: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/haswell-e-ddr4-x99-launch-date,27460.html

I suspect DDR4 RAM will cost a lot to start with. RAM prices in general have been going up for the past few years. An 8GB stick of DDR3 used to be $35, and now it is more like $80 to $95!!

Anyway I would wait for some benchmarks with the new CPUs and DDR4 memory to see if the price premium is worth it. It is hard to have too much CPU power for Blue Iris! I would love to be able to run all my cams without direct to disc, or with frame rates higher than 6 FPS.
 
Well time is not my friend. I'm starting to see issues requiring a fresh install, and don't want to do it a second time after new hardware is delivered. What's with AMD? I've had good performance with them on several machines.
 
Nanookofthenorth said:
Well time is not my friend. I'm starting to see issues requiring a fresh install, and don't want to do it a second time after new hardware is delivered. What's with AMD? I've had good performance with them on several machines.
Click to expand...

AMD is frowned upon because they dont touch intel in power consumption. This is huge. Even a 20 watt difference run 24/7 could cost over 35 dollars a year if you live in an area that charges 20c a kwh...
 
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AMD can barely compete in speed either. If you look at high end CPUs, they are almost all Intel.

Anyway without actually having any evidence except history to base this on, I expect the the i7-5820K will score about 14,000 on cpubenchmark. The already-available i7-4790K is the next best option with a score of 11,338.

However the 5820K is likely to cost $65 more, and I expect the compatible motherboards and RAM to be roughly double what the current-generation stuff costs. So all together probably close to $300 extra to get the higher speed. And on top of that the 5820K will consume more power. So you may be better off with an i7-4790K.
 
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