New computer needed for Blue Iris

[essjay]

I have a hard time understanding Windows machines.

I'm the other way. Been Windows all my life and a few years ago I bought a MacBook Air. I gave OSX 3 years and just couldn't bond with it. Now running Windows 10 on the MBA...

 

[Gilles0181]

Eventually i have build a new PC using an i7 6700 on a mini-itx build. Here are the specs:
MSI mITX Moederbord Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC - 170 EUR
Noctua Processor cooler NH-L9i Intel, voor HTPC - 44 EUR
Intel Skylake Core i7 6700 3.40GHz 8MB Box - 350 EUR
Fractal Design Mini Tower Node 202 mITX, 450W - 160 EUR

I still had memory lying around (8GB DDR4 2100Mhz) and a 512GB Samsung 840 SSD which i re-used. All in all i spent 724 EUR and i sold my old Intel Nuc (which i first wanted to use for BI) for 350 EUR; so net i spent about 375 EUR which i think is a good price for a new system with these specs.

 

[CaliGirl]

Thanks @essjay great point. This is exactly why I am not confident enough in purchasing a windows computer on my own. Most people just say watch ebay for an i7 6700 but that is much simpler then true. There are very few if any listed with the specs needed and no way for me to know if there is auto restart.....

I did read a lot in the forums about getting 3.5" drive space and no form factor, thanks for reassuring us on that feature.

 

[looney2ns]

On thing to keep in mind if you're putting the PC remotely is to enable auto-restart in the bios if there's a power failure (and make sure the PC has that option available). I'd put a good UPS in there and configure the PC to do a graceful shutdown in the event of a power failure and reboot once the power is back up. It's not something I've done so you'll need to research it.

Also make sure you don't buy a machine that's Small Form Factor (SFF) or Ultra-SFF as they can't usually take an SSD for the operating system and then a 3.5" drive for the recordings.

Finally, what versions of Windows 10 can you prevent automatic updates? It might only be Enterprise. But if the machine is remote I'd prefer not have windows update and reboot itself.

I've had many windows machines, over the years and I've never had one that you couldn't set it to boot backup after a power failure.

 

[looney2ns]

@CaliGirl this will work, and comes with an SSD drive.
Yes it will fit both an SSD drive and a 3.5" purple drive.
Yes, it can be set to reboot after power is restored.
HDMI port.

Me or I'm sure someone else here would help you get it setup via remoting in with Teamviewer or such. You would be able to watch whatever is being done.

Dell Optiplex 3040 SFF - i7-6700 Quad - 8GB RAM - 128GB SSD- Win 10 PRO | eBay

 

[CaliGirl]

@CaliGirl this will work, and comes with an SSD drive.
Yes it will fit both an SSD drive and a 3.5" purple drive.
Yes, it can be set to reboot after power is restored.
HDMI port.

Me or I'm sure someone else here would help you get it setup via remoting in with Teamviewer or such. You would be able to watch whatever is being done.

Dell Optiplex 3040 SFF - i7-6700 Quad - 8GB RAM - 128GB SSD- Win 10 PRO | eBay

Love it! It is perfect, I searched for all those specs and came up empty handed. Not sure why my vague searches didn't come back with something similar as to that.

I just had my brother purchase it, he said he'd split it with me. He's starting to appreciate the remote camera system. Will let you know when I get it.

 

[Frank Ecker]

I've had many windows machines, over the years and I've never had one that you couldn't set it to boot backup after a power failure.

This is really a BIOS item rather than a Windows thing. My Asus BIOS has options on power restore to 1) Same as prior to power loss, 2) ON, or 3) OFF.

 

[CaliGirl]

Just curious, I have a left over MacBookPro 15" i7 2.2 GHZ, 16RAM, Intel Iris Pro Graphics card 1536mb

How does something like the Dell i7 6700 compare to this i7Mac? Much much better?

Trying to install windows 10 on the Mac but it has been quite an arduous task, even following youtube videos.

 

[looney2ns]

This is really a BIOS item rather than a Windows thing. My Asus BIOS has options on power restore to 1) Same as prior to power loss, 2) ON, or 3) OFF.

Very aware of that Frank.

 

[looney2ns]

Just curious, I have a left over MacBookPro 15" i7 2.2 GHZ, 16RAM, Intel Iris Pro Graphics card 1536mb

How does something like the Dell i7 6700 compare to this i7Mac? Much much better?

Trying to install windows 10 on the Mac but it has been quite an arduous task, even following youtube videos.

@CaliGirl I know nothing about Apple Juice powered products.

For your new computer you will also need this: StarTech PYO2SATA 6" SATA Power Y Splitter Cable-Newegg.com

There is a little of rearranging components to do in the Optiplex, we will get into that when you have it in hand.

 

[essjay]

Just curious, I have a left over MacBookPro 15" i7 2.2 GHZ, 16RAM, Intel Iris Pro Graphics card 1536mb

How does something like the Dell i7 6700 compare to this i7Mac? Much much better?

Trying to install windows 10 on the Mac but it has been quite an arduous task, even following youtube videos.

No contest. I think the i7 in the above MBP is a second generation processor whereas you've just bought a sixth generation CPU. For nothing else it has the hardware decoding.

 

[essjay]

I've had many windows machines, over the years and I've never had one that you couldn't set it to boot backup after a power failure.

OK yeah fair enough. I guess what I was getting at was to have the PC gracefully shutdown 15 minutes after the UPS detected a power failure and then boot back up once the UPC detected the power was back on.

 

[ndstate]

Is this a pretty good deal? Would take out the graphics card Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF i5-6500 6th Gen 8GB 500GB W10PRO DVD RW ** WARRANTY** | eBay

Otherwise Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF i5-6500 6th Gen 4GB 500GB W10PRO DVD RW **3YEAR WARRTY** | eBay

Thanks

 

[fenderman]

Is this a pretty good deal? Would take out the graphics card Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF i5-6500 6th Gen 8GB 500GB W10PRO DVD RW ** WARRANTY** | eBay

Otherwise Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF i5-6500 6th Gen 4GB 500GB W10PRO DVD RW **3YEAR WARRTY** | eBay

Thanks

3040 does not have a m.2 slot.. making adding an SSD difficult...look at 5040 7040

 

[ndstate]

3040 does not have a m.2 slot.. making adding an SSD difficult...look at 5040 7040

I have a spare 2.5 mSATA SSD I was planning on using. Can't I remove the DVD drive and use the 2.5 in its place? Then use the 3.5 purple I have?

 

[fenderman]

I have a spare 2.5 mSATA SSD I was planning on using. Can't I remove the DVD drive and use the 2.5 in its place? Then use the 3.5 purple I have?

you could but unless the have a caddie that fits, it will look silly...there is a thread somewhere showing how to use double sided velcro to mount it to the case, its tight...

 

[Doolally]

anyone with the 3040 is it true about the ram and some 8gb sticks not working >?

Adding memory to optiplex 3040 SFF - General Hardware - Desktop - Dell Community

Looks like these 3040 SFF have to have DDR3L (Low voltage) had about 20 other dimms in it with no luck, fussy machine

 

[CaliGirl]

I got windows 10 and blue Iris installed on my old MacBookPro i7. Blue Iris works amazing so far. There are sooo many more options then the Dahua NVR and they actually respond well to your inputs. I am also very impressed with windows 10, it is snappy and fairly easy to use. I haven't used windows in over 6 years.

I can now see why you need a power house to record the cameras. The MacBook is running at 25% max CPU recording one 4mp Dahua camera.

 

[aristobrat]

I don't know if the MacBook processor supports it, but check in Blue Iris Options (gear icon) > Cameras and see if you can set Intel HD hardware acceleration (restart) to Yes (H.264). If that works (and you reboot), you can go into the camera properties > Record > Video file format and compression... and change the Video Compression to Direct-to-disc. That can lower CPU usage because it doesn't have to re-encode anything.

(this is assuming you've upgraded the demo version, I don't think Direct-to-disc works in the demo version...)

 

[essjay]

Yes but also remember that MBP CPU is a mobile variation (I think) and also 5 generations old. That old CPU doesn't have Quick Sync Video on-board which is a massive help for BI processing.