RAM speed and NIC question

J

Johnman

Young grasshopper
Mar 18, 2020
84
12
Australia
Hi
I am looking to start looking for updated parts to upgrade my PC that runs blue iris and also Plex Media Server

I have a question about ram speed. I was reading this section from the choosing hardware wiki

Memory

4 GB of memory is sufficient for a smaller system (4 or fewer cameras) but 8 GB is recommended for most systems. The largest systems (20+ cameras or 800+ MP/s) may benefit from 16 GB.

Memory speed matters, and it is important to utilize all the memory channels available on your chosen platform. Most systems are capable of running dual channel memory, and I highly recommend doing so if you are going to be pushing the limits with your system.

Would I benefit greatly from getting 3600mhz vs 3200mhz? The price difference is substantial. Would like to get more bang for buck if possible.
And if I have a motherboard that has 4 channels. Is it benefictial to run in quad channel or is dual channel good enough?

Another thing is Dual Nics. Would this benefit greatly in offloading bandwidth for example:
running 8 IP cameras:
2 x 4k
6 x 2.7k
at 600 MP/s

And then streaming a 4k movie using Plex for example ( From the PC to my TV)
 
I don’t have a plex server, but I would doubt that you would saturate. 1GBe Ethernet connection. However, consider the second NIC anyway as a security play, because you can segregate your cameras off your main network (preventing them from being a security problem), while simultaneously moving ALL their bandwidth consumption off your main network or a tiny investment of $15-$25.

Memory is a little tougher, PLEX doesn’t appear to have any affinity for fast memory, but testing on these forums has shown Blue Iris might have. Depending on your platform (Intel vs AMD) faster memory may provide better performance in BENCHMARKS but may be harder to see in real-world use. It should be FAR more important for you to have 4 identical memory sticks loaded properly to ensure you are using all FOUR memory channels as that is your systems peak memory config, provided of course you have a memory intensive program. The FOUR memory channel config will give you noticeable performance improvements provided the demand on the memory subsystem can exceed 1x or 2x bandwidth in your applications.

It will all come down to where your bottleneck is in YOUR specific system. You can move the memory bandwidth bottleneck far away by going dual or quad channel memory (most “gaming” pc’s, something like an i7-8700k, only have dual channel for perspective). You will likely surface some other system bottleneck you have to contend with, before you will need 3600+ rated memory.
 
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crw030 said:
I don’t have a plex server, but I would doubt that you would saturate. 1GBe Ethernet connection. However, consider the second NIC anyway as a security play, because you can segregate your cameras off your main network (preventing them from being a security problem), while simultaneously moving ALL their bandwidth consumption off your main network or a tiny investment of $15-$25.

Memory is a little tougher, PLEX doesn’t appear to have any affinity for fast memory, but testing on these forums has shown Blue Iris might have. Depending on your platform (Intel vs AMD) faster memory may provide better performance in BENCHMARKS but may be harder to see in real-world use. It should be FAR more important for you to have 4 identical memory sticks loaded properly to ensure you are using all FOUR memory channels as that is your systems peak memory config, provided of course you have a memory intensive program. The FOUR memory channel config will give you noticeable performance improvements provided the demand on the memory subsystem can exceed 1x or 2x bandwidth in your applications.

It will all come down to where your bottleneck is in YOUR specific system. You can move the memory bandwidth bottleneck far away by going dual or quad channel memory (most “gaming” pc’s, something like an i7-8700k, only have dual channel for perspective). You will likely surface some other system bottleneck you have to contend with, before you will need 3600+ rated memory.
Click to expand...

Thanks so your saying it would be more important to increase performance for going quad channel memory over faster memory? if that is the case I should look at 3200mhz the price is far cheaper

I am thinking of getting
i7-9700k cpu
32GB quad or dual ( depending on your answer) or other recommendations)
Motherboard with dual Nic or I wil get a dual network card and put it in
Already have storage
 
Johnman said:
i7-9700k cpu
Click to expand...
Ok, but that CPU is DUAL channel memory controller. (Don’t get confused because it has 4 memory slots, it will still be dual-channel limited).

Check out the Blue Iris stats (Blue Iris Update Helper) to see how that chip might do for max MP/s. It’s still a solid chip, just not 4-memory channels. It will likely still be adequate for Blue Iris loads up to at least 900 MP/s based on some other user submitted stats and depending how much time you spend optimizing things.

Something like the Intel Extreme Edition processors (I7-7800X) would have 4 channel memory support, also Threadripper processors for AMD (but big $$).
 
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crw030 said:
Ok, but that CPU is DUAL channel memory controller. (Don’t get confused because it has 4 memory slots, it will still be dual-channel limited).

Check out the Blue Iris stats (Blue Iris Update Helper) to see how that chip might do for max MP/s. It’s still a solid chip, just not 4-memory channels. It will likely still be adequate for Blue Iris loads up to at least 900 MP/s based on some other user submitted stats and depending how much time you spend optimizing things.

Something like the Intel Extreme Edition processors (I7-7800X) would have 4 channel memory support, also Threadripper processors for AMD (but big $$).
Click to expand...

yeh the X series chips are way too expensive for me and way over what I need
I just need it to run the IP cameras with live view on and a media server

Is it better to go with a quad channel memory compatible CPU and get a cheaper less expensive cpu then a faster dual channel cpu?
 
For your expected camera load I wouldn't sweat it, just go with an 8th or 9th gen Intel. The general recommendation is to try and get something used off lease.
 
Johnman said:
Hi
I am looking to start looking for updated parts to upgrade my PC that runs blue iris and also Plex Media Server

I have a question about ram speed. I was reading this section from the choosing hardware wiki

Memory

4 GB of memory is sufficient for a smaller system (4 or fewer cameras) but 8 GB is recommended for most systems. The largest systems (20+ cameras or 800+ MP/s) may benefit from 16 GB.

Memory speed matters, and it is important to utilize all the memory channels available on your chosen platform. Most systems are capable of running dual channel memory, and I highly recommend doing so if you are going to be pushing the limits with your system.

Would I benefit greatly from getting 3600mhz vs 3200mhz? The price difference is substantial. Would like to get more bang for buck if possible.
And if I have a motherboard that has 4 channels. Is it benefictial to run in quad channel or is dual channel good enough?

Another thing is Dual Nics. Would this benefit greatly in offloading bandwidth for example:
running 8 IP cameras:
2 x 4k
6 x 2.7k
at 600 MP/s

And then streaming a 4k movie using Plex for example ( From the PC to my TV)
Click to expand...
fwiw, I run my home media server on one computer and my BI machine on another.
 
You might have to keep your eyes peeled to find one on ebay that is a decent price, anything semi modern i5/i7 should handle 600 MP/s. If in doubt check Blue Iris Update Helper to see if someone else is running the processor you are thinking about, and what MP/s they are running and CPU usage. If you can buy into newer generations they'll support more in the future if you keep buying cameras.

I checked the HP refurb site, and they are over $600 seems, lots on ebay but similar problem (or they are TINY when you probably want a case big enough for 1-2 big drives), or the processor is one like a i5-9500T with the thermal limits the really limit that version. If you can wait a little bit Intel just announced 10th gen, which might bring more of the older gen stuff to market when it gets released. Also if you can wait sometimes guys on these forums will post a link to a decent priced ebay listing when they come across them.
 
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