Dahua NVR 5216

Yep, and then you can add almost any camera manufacturer and not be an issue. I think you will find BI to give you great flexibility and easy to use too. Literally in a minute I can scan for any overnight activity. I could never do that with an NVR and got to the point I never looked unless I had heard something or a neighbor reported a door checker.
 
Either one should work. It appears the Dell has Windows Pro and an SSD which would be the preferred. Then get a hard drive for storage (most here go with WD Purple) and you already have the switch, so then a $60ish BI license and you are off and running!
What size hdd do you recommend?
 
As big as you can afford LOL

It depends on how many cameras and if recording continuous or just on motion and how long you want to have recordings for. Many are of the mindset that if you have enough cameras to cover your property and set up the notifications that would let you know if someone came close to your house, then you only need 2 weeks or so of recording. But some want more.

Here is a wiki with a calculator to help you figure out how much:

 
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