Newbie Questions

[mike32162]

Meh. This is going back. I really don't want a PC to use elsewhere with a serial ATA.
I can get a 7700 as opposed to the 9700 with an M.2 & HDD (which I would toss) for the same price, or build.
The trade off is a 4core CPU vs 8. Basically 2017 vs 2019

There is no savings to using much older-gen CPU's in a fresh build, so would prolly go with a 13500 or 12600 or wait until 14th gen comes out in a week or so to see where prices go on current gen.

Now I have to uninstall BI, hopefully no issues with using the same license key on a new machine.

 

[mike32162]

Are you sure there is no m.2 slot, we have an older Dell SFF desktop and that has an m.2 slot?

I don't see any horizontal slots on the MB unless it's under the CPU Cooler (which would be really dumb) or closer to the front of the board in front of the ram. The spec sheet shows it on the side toward the back & I don't see it.

 

[mike32162]

I don't see any horizontal slots on the MB unless it's under the CPU Cooler (which would be really dumb) or closer to the front of the board in front of the ram. The spec sheet shows it on the side toward the back & I don't see it.

I could try an SFF PCI card, but then I have to get my licensed windows copy onto it & not have windows complain about it.

 

[IAmATeaf]

When I looked it showed it near the 2 SATA ports.

 

[mike32162]

Are you sure there is no m.2 slot, we have an older Dell SFF desktop and that has an m.2 slot?

When I looked it showed it near the 2 SATA ports.

Most definitely not there. I would notice a horizontal M.2 slot...

 

[Mike A.]

That's odd. The 70x0 series should have NVMe. They have for a long time. Even my old 7040 has one. Maybe hidden under something?

They show it as an available option and list the 7070 SFF as compatible:

Dell M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen 3x4 Class 40 2280 Solid State Drive - 256GB | Dell USA

Increase the storage capacity of your Dell™ System with 256GB Solid State Drive from Dell. It boasts a storage capacity of up to 256GB, enabling users to store large amounts of data.

www.dell.com

 

[looney2ns]

Download the manual for that pc, and it will show you the location of the M.2, it's there. But it's not a slot persay, it is only the connection for the SSD.
Remove the drive bay, it's right underneath.

 

[looney2ns]

 

[looney2ns]

Service manual.

 

[mike32162]

View attachment 175056View attachment 175056

Thanks! I found it, now I have to go grab a drive and clone everything to it.

 

[mike32162]

Thanks! I found it, now I have to go grab a drive and clone everything to it.

Awesome. It worked. Installed a Samsung 980 Pro, cloned, removed old drive, it boots and no complaints from Windows.
Only problem is Dell did not leave a mounting screw in the standoff and it did not come with the drive. Ordered a kit from Amazon, turned off the machine, and when it shows up will secure the drive properly and install the WD Purple.

Back to installing cameras while I wait...

Thanks again for the help.

 

[mike32162]

Ok, computer is up, NVME works, 12TB internally installed. A few more dumb questions before I take this off the bench and set it up for production:
1) The WD purple is making a constant click every few seconds. There is nothing on it, no load, BI not installed yet. Is this normal?
2) The Cliff Notes say it's best to utilize all memory channels. When I opened the box, there are 2 empty slots. I have 2 16 Gig sticks totaling 32GB. Given DDR4 2666 is dirt cheap, should I populate the other slots (I realize 2 different pairs may not play well together and might have to get 4 of the same)
3) I plan on having the BI run at startup, maximized, so my parents can simply switch the input on the TV to see all the camera feeds. Should I also run it as a service?

 

[Mike A.]

1. Try turning off disk optimization. You're going to hear some noise now and then but that was the biggest cause that I found for continual noise.
2. 64 won't hurt any but 32 probably is more than enough with 12 cams. I run 20+ cams with 16. But I don't use AI on the server. I'll defer to others as far as needs for that go.
3. Yes, run as a service.

 

[mike32162]

2. 64 won't hurt any but 32 probably is more than enough with 12 cams. I run 20+ cams with 16. But I don't use AI on the server. I'll defer to others as far as needs for that go.

64 is overkill (from what I understand) but populating all 4 banks is what gives the boost. Given I already have 2 16's, it's cheaper to buy another 2 and have 64GB than to buy 4 8's for the same 32GB. For $53, I ordered it. Might as well, I'm going to set this thing up and likely won't be back here for a few months. Going through the rest of the Wiki to make sure I have all the settings (storage, substreams, etc...) correct. I ran everything on demo on my mini PC to make sure I was happy with it and in the interim, been setting up the production machine and installing cams. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, the incompetent * who ran the cat5e cable for the existing analog system tin snipped a hole in the metal stud header rather than properly drilling and placing a grommet, so I had to re-do some of the feeds and patch the rest. Kind of put a dent in timing to get this thing done. Was totally stumped when I re-terminated both ends of a few cables several times and they tested bad. Climbed into the attic and saw why...

 

[IAmATeaf]

Isn’t the advice re memory to make sure that you have dual banks populated as it makes it more efficient. Don’t think you need all 4 populated but make sure you populate the bank pair.

What sort of boost it gives you, have read that you can only really see it when benchmarking but I suppose every little helps.

I run 9 cams, 3 4Mp and the rest all 2 Mp on my system which has 16Gb and I’ve found that more than ample unless you get one of the versions of BI that likes to elope with the RAM.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

While the majority of folks dedicate a machine to BI and do not run any other software/services. The reality is, windows is the platform/environment that BI operates on/in. It has always been my experience that the more RAM memory you provide for windows itself, the better. I consider 16GB the minimum, and for every day machines, typically strive for 32GB or better.

My thought process is: stuffing the increased RAM in the box will ensure windows has the "space" it needs to operate well. In turn, the hosted software will benefit as well.

 

[mike32162]

While the majority of folks dedicate a machine to BI and do not run any other software/services. The reality is, windows is the platform/environment that BI operates on/in. It has always been my experience that the more RAM memory you provide for windows itself, the better. I consider 16GB the minimum, and for every day machines, typically strive for 32GB or better.

My thought process is: stuffing the increased RAM in the box will ensure windows has the "space" it needs to operate well. In turn, the hosted software will benefit as well.

Amazon did their thing quickly. 64GB since it was cheap & made no sense not to do it while I'm setting up the machine. Only thing worth noting for future reference for others is 2666 Ram is more expensive and harder to come by than 3200 or 3600. You can't take advantage of the faster speeds without an unlocked chip (which I don't have and don't want, due to cooling issues). BIOS will just downgrade the speed to 2666. I have 3200 and it works.

 

[mike32162]

Well now things are getting to be a bit more complex. I either broke something, or have to make adjustments, perhaps I can get some starting ground?
After going through the wiki and configuring each camera to use substreams and 15FPS, I now get no motion alerts at night. Turn on a light outside, it works. Prior to changes, it worked all around. I'm guessing I have to tell the system (or each camera) what to do when it's dark out and when it's not? Then go into the settings there? Not really sure but would like to clarify, and perhaps get some starting grounds on what to adjust and what values.

 

[wittaj]

Post a screenshot of your night image without the lights on.

When you add the substreams, you have to adjust the motion detection for the substream.

Make sure you have unchecked the Move X number of pixels and uncheck the reset at X% under BI motion and use simple algorithm.

 

[mike32162]

Post a screenshot of your night image without the lights on.

When you add the substreams, you have to adjust the motion detection for the substream.

Make sure you have unchecked the Move X number of pixels and uncheck the reset at X% under BI motion and use simple algorithm.