Core i3 v Core i7

[dermotd]

I'm running BI quite happily on a 3.4GHz Core i7 with 4 HD IP cameras

I want to set up a second server, but looking to economise a bit on hardware, if possible.

I have a spare Core i3 machine running at 3.4GHz but it has a 1TB SSD compared to the 2TB spinning rust HD on the i7 - any views if that will support 4 HD or HD+ cameras as well?

It is running Win7-64 and only has 4GB of 1600 DRAM, but I can easily boost that a bit if necessary, though BI doesn't seem to be that hungry with RAM.

 

[fenderman]

I'm running BI quite happily on a 3.4GHz Core i7 with 4 HD IP cameras

I want to set up a second server, but looking to economise a bit on hardware, if possible.

I have a spare Core i3 machine running at 3.4GHz but it has a 1TB SSD compared to the 2TB spinning rust HD on the i7 - any views if that will support 4 HD or HD+ cameras as well?

It is running Win7-64 and only has 4GB of 1600 DRAM, but I can easily boost that a bit if necessary, though BI doesn't seem to be that hungry with RAM.

i3 and i7 are completely meaningless terms you need to specify the exact processor...you also need to specify the camera resolution, not simply hd...

 

[copex]

Minimum requirements:

• Pentium dual-core or equivalent 2GHz processor or better
• 2GB or more system RAM
• Microsoft Windows XP SP3 or newer, or a server OS
• One or more USB or Network IP cameras, or an analog capture card with DirectShow drivers

Recommendations when using many and/or HD cameras:

• Intel core i7 with QuickSync for hardware decoding
• 8GB or more RAM
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 or 10, 64 bit
• nVIDIA graphics adaptor for efficient screen display
• 7200+ RPM drives and/or SSD drive

 

[fenderman]

Minimum requirements:

• Pentium dual-core or equivalent 2GHz processor or better
• 2GB or more system RAM
• Microsoft Windows XP SP3 or newer, or a server OS
• One or more USB or Network IP cameras, or an analog capture card with DirectShow drivers

Recommendations when using many and/or HD cameras:

• Intel core i7 with QuickSync for hardware decoding
• 8GB or more RAM
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 or 10, 64 bit
• nVIDIA graphics adaptor for efficient screen display
• 7200+ RPM drives and/or SSD drive

that is way to general and actually not accurate...

 

[copex]

i thought the "Recommendations when using many and/or HD cameras:" answered the question but what would i know ;-)

Refernce for my post - Download Blue Iris

 

[fenderman]

i thought the "Recommendations when using many and/or HD cameras:" answered the question but what would i know ;-)

Refernce for my post - Download Blue Iris

Again, what I said....for example it doesnt differentiate between i7 models...there is a huge variation...most installs can easily run on third generation i5 systems or even less....way too many variables to use that generalization...nvidia should generally not be used.

 

[dermotd]

i3 and i7 are completely meaningless terms you need to specify the exact processor...you also need to specify the camera resolution, not simply hd...

Thanks for your helpful reply.

I'm stating HD as the commonly understood industry standard term for 1920 x 1080 and HD+ as shorthand for something above that; either an Axis M3005 and/or 4Mpixel Hikvision in this particular case. I can, of course, crank the resolution down on those to standard HD if the results are a bit marginal.

The core i7 I'm using currently is an i7-5557U - stock 3.1GHz, but clocked at 3.4GHz.

The i3 is an i3-6100T 3.2GHz but again clocked at 3.4GHz. Windows reports CPU and Disk performance as 7.3 and 7.9, for whatever use those figures represent, but only 4.8 and 5.5 for Aero graphics and gaming respectively. The i7 has rather better graphics performance at 7.0 for each option and, oddly identical CPU performance to the i3 but only 6.7 for disk.

I've never been particularly convinced by the windows performance index, it must be said.

I suppose my overall question is does an SSD make up for a somewhat slower CPU at all? 1TB is certainly bigger than I think I'll need, based on experience so far.

Overclocking does make the CPUs run a little warmer, so I'd be happy to drop them back to stock if that doesn't have much impact.

 

[looney2ns]

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage | IP Cam Talk

 

[fenderman]

Thanks for your helpful reply.

I'm stating HD as the commonly understood industry standard term for 1920 x 1080 and HD+ as shorthand for something above that; either an Axis M3005 and/or 4Mpixel Hikvision in this particular case. I can, of course, crank the resolution down on those to standard HD if the results are a bit marginal.

The core i7 I'm using currently is an i7-5557U - stock 3.1GHz, but clocked at 3.4GHz.

The i3 is an i3-6100T 3.2GHz but again clocked at 3.4GHz. Windows reports CPU and Disk performance as 7.3 and 7.9, for whatever use those figures represent, but only 4.8 and 5.5 for Aero graphics and gaming respectively. The i7 has rather better graphics performance at 7.0 for each option and, oddly identical CPU performance to the i3 but only 6.7 for disk.

I've never been particularly convinced by the windows performance index, it must be said.

I suppose my overall question is does an SSD make up for a somewhat slower CPU at all? 1TB is certainly bigger than I think I'll need, based on experience so far.

Overclocking does make the CPUs run a little warmer, so I'd be happy to drop them back to stock if that doesn't have much impact.

The i3 and the i7 you listed have similar benchmarks because the i7 is only a dual core laptop U cpu....should perform about the same...I would suggest against overclocking the cpu...
The ssd wont compensate for the cpu, but its nice to have for the OS BI and the database file.

 

[Stephan06]

This mini-pc should work ok for 4-6 cameras for Zone crossing I would imagine and residential purposes?

7th Gen Kaby Lake Mini PC HTPC Fanless Intel Core i3 7100U 2.40Ghz WIn10 Pro

7th Gen Kaby Lake Mini PC HTPC Fanless Intel Core i3 7100U 2.40Ghz WIn10 Pro | eBay

 

[fenderman]

This mini-pc should work ok for 4-6 cameras for Zone crossing I would imagine and residential purposes?

7th Gen Kaby Lake Mini PC HTPC Fanless Intel Core i3 7100U 2.40Ghz WIn10 Pro

7th Gen Kaby Lake Mini PC HTPC Fanless Intel Core i3 7100U 2.40Ghz WIn10 Pro | eBay

avoid those underpowered mini pc's...you also want room for a traditional drive...the number of cameras is irrelevant, the resolution and frame rate matter.

 

[Stephan06]

avoid those underpowered mini pc's...you also want room for a traditional drive...the number of cameras is irrelevant, the resolution and frame rate matter.

Thanks, I did see the thread on the recommended hardware especially the old Dell Optiplex floating around on ebay.

 

[Kimonos]

I am having the same question. For a residential install with no more than 6 cameras and mostly not viewing them in real time. What would actually be an not to expensive setup what benchmarks would I want to consider?

 

[Kimonos]

I am having the same question. For a residential install with no more than 6 cameras and mostly not viewing them in real time. What would actually be an not to expensive setup what benchmarks would I want to consider?

Never mind I see the link K with the hardware specs

 

[looney2ns]

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

 

[Kimonos]

What do you think about this Optiplex, I would upgrade the ram:
Dell OptiPlex 790 SFF Desktop Computer - Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz CPU, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB HDD, 10x USB 2.0, VGA, DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, Win 10 Professional, Refurbished
Dell OptiPlex 790 SFF Desktop Computer

 

[tigerwillow1]

What do you think about this Optiplex, I would upgrade the ram:
Dell OptiPlex 790 SFF Desktop Computer - Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz CPU, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB HDD, 10x USB 2.0, VGA, DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, Win 10 Professional, Refurbished
Dell OptiPlex 790 SFF Desktop Computer

I think that's on the high side for a 2nd generation i7. If you look around ebay you can find 3rd or 4th gen systems for that money, or 2nd gen for less.

 

[Kimonos]

I think that's on the high side for a 2nd generation i7. If you look around ebay you can find 3rd or 4th gen systems for that money, or 2nd gen for less.

this is in $CAD USD it would like $250 and most of them i see on Ebay have shipping fees and are more expensive. like $349 CAD: Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF i7-4770 3.40Ghz 8GB 240GB SSD HD DVD-ROM Windows 10 Pro | eBay

 

[Kimonos]

also this shop is down the street they have this one: Used Dell Optiflex 7010 SFF System, Tomcom Link Corp

 

[tigerwillow1]

Sorry I didn't notice the Canada factor, which makes my earlier response useless to you. In the US market I've noticed that the availability and prices run in waves. Last fall was a really good time in the US. I picked up an i7-4770 system for $234(US, incl shipping), and a i5-4590 for $188. They appear to be priced higher right now. Maybe it was corporations doing an end-of-year thing. I compared specs at the time and don't remember the specifics now. In general, I concluded that the 2nd generation Ivy Bridge machines were ok, but 3rd generation Sandy Bridge was a fairly nice improvement in terms of performance and power consumption, with 4th generation Haswell being a bit better than 3rd generation. After Haswell, the prices "skyrocketed" in comparative terms, and availability was low. My conclusion was to go for at least 3rd generation. Last fall there was a glut of them in the US, and I assume that's what held the prices down. I threw away all of my benchmark notes. I think the 2nd gen i7 is probably faster than the 3rd gen i5, but the 3rd gen will do better on power consumption.