New Computer Build - Feedback before I start buying parts?

[revbilly]

I appreciate your desire to build your own,
I used to work at MicroCenter Computers in St. Louis park Mn. and have assisted many PC enthusiast in picking out components. Although....this was the year 2000-2001....everything has changed.....
Sometimes you just can't talk a guy out of a build it yourself mode. and thats fine. I've built a few PC's.
These guys commenting on your situation, are very knowledgeable on the forum.
I took Fendermans advice after my Frankenplex didn't perform stably. removed an i-3 from a Optiplex 7020 inserted an i7 3770S, and had thermal issues.
Found a Dell Precision heat sink that fit into the case and got it down to 72-75C.
but may have suffered from thermal throttling.
Couple that with an SMR drive doing its magic tricks of overflowing cache buffers, and you get a frozen PC.

I got the Hp Elitedesk G4-800 i5-8500.
It's running at a Condo with 19 Cams, and a DVR feed of 9 cams, and a WD 8TB purple, and a WD 5TB white label ( likely a shucked drive from a WD passport- bought on ebay)
It's quiet, energy efficient and the " Tool-less" design makes working inside a pleasing experience.
Also on my list of recommenations for reasons of expandability is the Dell Precision 3630 Tower, touting 3-3.5" bays, Nvidia RX3070 support or full size graphics cards, with the Power supply rated to suppport them.

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I do like building my own systems when I think it makes sense. I used to build my own motorbikes for the same reasons - I enjoyed building them, I could make them to fit my needs precisely, and I could trust that everything was put together right. And if I did have a problem, chances are I knew exactly where to look first. ;-)

In this case I have some specific size requirements that put me into the Micro-ATX form factor. I also know that I may have to use this system for another application someday, so I want to make sure there's room for a modest GPU and slots free for future use.

Thanks again for the SMR/CMR lesson. That doesn't seem to be listed in the specs. Where do I go to find out which drives are which?

 

[Ssayer]

FWIW, I have an O-L-D I7-3770 (bought it used on eBay), which is well under the cpu power of the link that Fenderman posted. I have 25 cams with 24/7 recording plus alerts, 3 faux cams (for my weather stuff), and 2 USB cams that run whenever my 3D Printer is going. That old box has been running 24/7/365 for many many years now without issue. As I glance over at it right now, I see it's at 33% cpu (normally around 18% at night. Obviously YMMV, but... you get my drift...

 

[looney2ns]

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I do like building my own systems when I think it makes sense. I used to build my own motorbikes for the same reasons - I enjoyed building them, I could make them to fit my needs precisely, and I could trust that everything was put together right. And if I did have a problem, chances are I knew exactly where to look first. ;-)

In this case I have some specific size requirements that put me into the Micro-ATX form factor. I also know that I may have to use this system for another application someday, so I want to make sure there's room for a modest GPU and slots free for future use.

Thanks again for the SMR/CMR lesson. That doesn't seem to be listed in the specs. Where do I go to find out which drives are which?

Purchase a WD Purple drive, and your golden.

 

[revbilly]

Purchase a WD Purple drive, and your golden.

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That's very condescending. I have read the relevant instructions on a real computer. Forgive me if I haven't plunged deep enough into the material to meet your expectations.

I certainly applied all the performance recommendations for v4 system and camera settings long ago, but the hardware I was running BI on was insufficient. Later, when I started adding more and newer cams, the system started failing. In the Wiki, regarding hardware choices, I'm told "Don't build or buy new." I'm afraid the writer lost me there, for reasons I've touched on in previous replies. Maybe I'll be the first person in the world to build a brand new pc for the sole purpose of running Blue Iris?

 

[Smilingreen]

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That's very condescending. I have read the relevant instructions on a real computer. Forgive me if I haven't plunged deep enough into the material to meet your expectations.

I certainly applied all the performance recommendations for v4 system and camera settings long ago, but the hardware I was running BI on was insufficient. Later, when I started adding more and newer cams, the system started failing. In the Wiki, regarding hardware choices, I'm told "Don't build or buy new." I'm afraid the writer lost me there, for reasons I've touched on in previous replies. Maybe I'll be the first person in the world to build a brand new pc for the sole purpose of running Blue Iris?

I wouldn't consider @looney2ns remarks as condescending. He made a statement based on your previous post. Don't read more into it than what was originally intended.

 

[wittaj]

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I certainly applied all the performance recommendations for v4 system and camera settings long ago, but the hardware I was running BI on was insufficient. Later, when I started adding more and newer cams, the system started failing. In the Wiki, regarding hardware choices, I'm told "Don't build or buy new." I'm afraid the writer lost me there, for reasons I've touched on in previous replies. Maybe I'll be the first person in the world to build a brand new pc for the sole purpose of running Blue Iris?

Plenty of people have built their own new PCs for BI, and most have spent way more than they need to.

What the wiki means by "Don't build or buy new" is that in almost every case, it is cheaper to buy a refurbished computer than buy a new one or build one. The one I bought I kid you not I could not tell that it was a refurbished unit - not a speck of dust or dents or scratches on it. It appeared to me like everything was replaced and I would assume just the motherboard with the intel processor is what was from the original unit. I went with the lowest end processor on the WIKI list as it was the cheapest and it runs my system fine.

If you want to go ahead and build a 12th gen computer, go for it, but you are wasting your money is the point being made.

You have seen examples in this post of people running 3rd and 4th gen machines with way more load than yours just fine. Heck, if you get lucky you could pick up a 4th gen for $25 at a government auction like a member did here several months ago.

 

[samplenhold]

WD Purple drives that are 8TB or more run at 7200rpm while those less than 8TB run at 5400rpm. It really will not make much difference for the number of cams and throughput that our cams have. The real decision to make is how much video do you want to keep on hand. I would like more than one month's worth since I leave home for 4-5 weeks at a time a few times a year. So that is important to Me, but may not be important to YOU or someone else. Every one's situation is different.

As far as building or buying, again that is a personal decision. I chose to build on a micro ATX motherboard. Sure I left money on the table. But I like building those. I have built exactly what I wanted for myself and my wife's gaming machines for over 15 years now. It is fun researching and building them. Could I have bought a used Dell business machine for a tenth of my build cost? Yup. Would it be adequate? Sure. Would I be satisfied? Not really. But that is the nice thing about IPCAMTALK. Everyone has their own ideas, and most of us that do not agree with someone else's opinion will generally accept that point of view.

Consider the future. What you THINK you want/need in terms of the number and sensor size will probably change as you gain more experience with IP Cams. When I first started I KNEW I would never need more than 5 cams. Well I now have 22 and will have plans for more. It has become a hobby for me, some say an obsession.

Recording to the SD card continuously will probably cause problems in the future. SD cards have a finite life measured in write cycles. I only use them for motion and they still fill up fast.

You run the risk of not getting usable video of a perp if you rely on motion only for BI. See the thread below.

Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)

So a guy came to the door yesterday, and while my wife did not open the door, it kind of spooked her out. She said he seem suspicious saying he found a driver's license on the lawn and wanted to know if it belonged to her. So when I got back from the range, I checked out the cams. This is one...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[revbilly]

WD Purple drives that are 8TB or more run at 7200rpm while those less than 8TB run at 5400rpm. It really will not make much difference for the number of cams and throughput that our cams have. The real decision to make is how much video do you want to keep on hand. I would like more than one month's worth since I leave home for 4-5 weeks at a time a few times a year. So that is important to Me, but may not be important to YOU or someone else. Every one's situation is different.

As far as building or buying, again that is a personal decision. I chose to build on a micro ATX motherboard. Sure I left money on the table. But I like building those. I have built exactly what I wanted for myself and my wife's gaming machines for over 15 years now. It is fun researching and building them. Could I have bought a used Dell business machine for a tenth of my build cost? Yup. Would it be adequate? Sure. Would I be satisfied? Not really. But that is the nice thing about IPCAMTALK. Everyone has their own ideas, and most of us that do not agree with someone else's opinion will generally accept that point of view.

Consider the future. What you THINK you want/need in terms of the number and sensor size will probably change as you gain more experience with IP Cams. When I first started I KNEW I would never need more than 5 cams. Well I now have 22 and will have plans for more. It has become a hobby for me, some say an obsession.

Recording to the SD card continuously will probably cause problems in the future. SD cards have a finite life measured in write cycles. I only use them for motion and they still fill up fast.

You run the risk of not getting usable video of a perp if you rely on motion only for BI. See the thread below.

Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)

So a guy came to the door yesterday, and while my wife did not open the door, it kind of spooked her out. She said he seem suspicious saying he found a driver's license on the lawn and wanted to know if it belonged to her. So when I got back from the range, I checked out the cams. This is one...

ipcamtalk.com

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My situation is definitely different than most here, I think. I'm very rural. Crime is not a big issue out here (knock knock). I like to peek around when I'm not at home and make sure all is well. I like to get alerts for driveway activity. I let a few friends look out my window. I see a lot more activity on my trailcams than my webcams. ;-)

 

[Ssayer]

Very rural here as well. Heck, I've even named my server "Critter Cams". Crime has been no issue here for the 27 years we've been here (please don't jinx me!). Daily and nightly we see a parade of critters. 3 cams crisscross my driveway, so there's that. Also one cam is at the street and lets us know when the mail hits. Aside from that, it's all fun for us. Though I peruse every morning, I keep around 2 weeks of recorded stuff JIK we see something different when we walk around outside. If I were in a different situation security wise, I'd have a way different setup (and I hope to never be in a different situation).

 

[Flintstone61]

WD Sets the Record Straight: Lists All Drives That Use Slower SMR Tech

WD drops the deets

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[The Automation Guy]

I'm not really going to add anything new to the conversation, but I will confirm what everyone has been saying.....

The computer you are considering building is extreme overkill for a CCTV platform. Even if you were considering AI on the computer, I think it is still overkill. But certainly just running BI without AI and there is no need for that system.

I've built many computers over the years for various projects and needs, but I'm running BI on a used Dell Optiplex SFF machine with a i7-6700 and 16gb of RAM that I bought off EBay. I just logged into my system (while remote - which actually adds to the load on the system) and my 12 camera system is sitting at 14% CPU utilization and 33% RAM utilization. It sometimes jumps to 25% CPU usage before immediately dropping back down to 10-15%. I actually suspect that is the remote connection causing that spike, but even if not there is still tremendous headroom available in that system. There is a similar machine on EBay for $150+$25 shipping right now with Windows 10 Pro already installed. Throw in a larger HD for recording to and that system would work fine for years to come.

EDIT - I agree with Fenderman's suggestion to use a i5-8500 or better and therefore removed the EBay link to the i7-6700 listing. You can definitely find i5-8500 for the same price or even less than the i7 listing.

 

[fenderman]

I'm not really going to add anything new to the conversation, but I will confirm what everyone has been saying.....

The computer you are considering building is extreme overkill for a CCTV platform. Even if you were considering AI on the computer, I think it is still overkill. But certainly just running BI without AI and there is no need for that system.

I've built many computers over the years for various projects and needs, but I'm running BI on a used Dell Optiplex SFF machine with a i7-6700 and 16gb of RAM that I bought off EBay. I just logged into my system (while remote - which actually adds to the load on the system) and my 12 camera system is sitting at 14% CPU utilization and 33% RAM utilization. It sometimes jumps to 25% CPU usage before immediately dropping back down to 10-15%. I actually suspect that is the remote connection causing that spike, but even if not there is still tremendous headroom available in that system. There is a similar machine on EBay for $150+$25 shipping right now with Windows 10 Pro already installed. Throw in a larger HD for recording to and that system would work fine for years to come.

While this link won't be valid after the listing ends, here is the EBay listing for that computer I mentioned....

Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF Desktop i7-6700 3.4GHz 16GB Ram 256GB SSD Windows10Pro | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF Desktop i7-6700 3.4GHz 16GB Ram 256GB SSD Windows10Pro at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

The one caveat I would add about the i7-6700 system is that it wont run w11. While if you keep the system isolated it wont matter, MS will stop providing updates to w10 in oct 2025. This is why I prefer the i5-8500 systems that are priced about the same and actually a bit faster than the older i7-6700, 7 percent in single core and 15 percent in multi.