Newb - Of course a question for the experts

[nditiz1]

So I have been reading and searching and reading and searching. What I haven't found except for maybe two posts is a lot of talk on NVR complete rebranded systems. So I'm not sure if I am ready to drop $800 - $1000 on an optiplex/elitedesk with a Hikvision PoE and 3-4 cams. I am looking to spend around $500 to get a complete setup. Like I said I saw 2 posts talking about costco selling rebranded Dahua - Lorex. Costco has a complete right now:

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-HD-IP-NVR-with-2TB-HDD,-4-3MP-Cameras-with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100277302.html

But am I shooting myself in the foot going with this to expand/upgrade later to a PC setup and keep the cams? Maybe I should first state what my intent is.

I would like to have:

3-4 cam setup of 3-4MP (clarity is my biggest concern here)
PoE as I only want to run 1 cable each cams
NVR since that goes with PoE - recording the past 7 days at a min and possibly max. Not sure if I care about anything after 7 days it can just record over.
Budget ~$500

Someone please chime in if the Costco Lorex is just a waste of time and I should build a BI/PC, PoE, Cams. Thanks!

 

[klasipca]

You will essentially get what you pay for it. Those bundles include cheapest cams but if it's for indoor recording it should do the job because they generally don't have the best night vision.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

I think you can do it all for about 1000.

I scored a killer deal on eBay: i7-6700, 16GB DDR3, 256GB SSD, 2TB HDD,Win10Pro. $530

All Dahua cameras. I boughta smorgasbord to try a few styles and specs. The 4431 turrets are great and under $100 each. Look at AliExpress and eBay.

About $150 in for 1000ft reel of Cat6 and the tools to run and terminate.

Still need another $50 to purchase BI.
And all the fun of doing it myself.

Over a grand. Not too much. The computer is more than needed as an i5 can run well, too.

Read. Research. Compare. Shop. Install!

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Piece it together. Desktop with one good cam. And add cams as you go. No need to rush into a crappy system with no potential. Do it right. Buy once.

 

[nditiz1]

You will essentially get what you pay for it. Those bundles include cheapest cams but if it's for indoor recording it should do the job because they generally don't have the best night vision.

If Lorex is rebranded Dahua is it cheap hardware?

These will be for the outside.

What kind of PC can handle 4-4MP cams with 24/7 recording for 1 week? Maybe suited for a separate post.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Seek out posts by fenderman. There is a Subforum for the very question you ask. Top of my head, from researching... i5 haswell or i7 skylake.

 

[klasipca]

If Lorex is rebranded Dahua is it cheap hardware?

These will be for the outside.

What kind of PC can handle 4-4MP cams with 24/7 recording for 1 week? Maybe suited for a separate post.

It's Costco if it doesn't work for you it offers easy returns. Why not just test this yourself? Just make sure to test them in the area where you want to mount it at night.

 

[nditiz1]

Ok scrap the Costco ones. I have convinced myself to go the PC/BI route. Is this PC still valid HP Elitesdesk i5-4590 small form? Found it from a year old post.

 

[nditiz1]

So possibly this setup would be a good start:

[FONT=&quot]Dell Optiplex 7040 MICRO i7-6700T/8GB/5[/FONT][FONT=&quot]00GB/Win10 Pro[/FONT]