Small and quiet PC for Blue Iris?

dabflyboy

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I'm looking to setup my first camera system, and I think I've settled on a PC with Blue Iris. I'd like it not to be huge, obtrusive, or loud. Can anyone recommend a small and quiet PC brand/model/etc? Thanks.
 

austwhite

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I am not using Blue Iris yet, but hoping to soon, but I have a HP EliteDesk 800 G1 (Core i7 4770, 24GB RAM). Very quiet when CPU usage is low to moderate. Not tiny in size, but it fits nicely on a shelf in the cupboard.
If CPU usage is ramped up, then the fan will ramp up with it of course.
I am hoping this will be a decent machine for BI as well.
You can pickup these sort of machines pretty cheaply second hand, and if you go for a later model, say a G3 or higher, they often have balance of warranty as they are enterprise grade machines.
 

IAmATeaf

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I run BI on an HP 600 G2 desktop which is quiet but not quiet enough to have say in a bedroom. in my case the machine is in my loft so for me it doesn’t really matter how quiet or not it may be
 
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Get an SFF or whatever serves your needs. If it ends up being too loud for your liking you can swap out some beQuiet Silent Wings fans for the factory fans.

I went with Noctua PPC fans in my recent build and they sound like a jet turbine winding up, so steer clear of those if silence is the objective!
 

IAmATeaf

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Make sure what ever you get had the right CPU and space for how ever many hard disks you will need. Seen plenty of posts here were devices don’t have enough space for a 2nd disk.
 

dabflyboy

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Thanks y'all. I'm thinking I should go with a refurb unit, rather than just a used one. Refurbs seem to come with at least a year warranty. Thoughts?
 

IAmATeaf

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I just purchased the cheapest from a buyer with good feedback.

No idea what and what wouldn’t be covered in a refurb warranty.

In reliability terms, the only thing I’ve ever had go wrong in a PC is the power supply and hard disk so if these are covered then fine, else the extra would be a waste of money.
 

fenderman

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I run BI on an HP 600 G2 desktop which is quiet but not quiet enough to have say in a bedroom. in my case the machine is in my loft so for me it doesn’t really matter how quiet or not it may be
Then you have something set incorrectly. Check the van settings in the bios you You should not be able to hear the machine unless you’re eat is within a foot of two of it
 

fenderman

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Thanks y'all. I'm thinking I should go with a refurb unit, rather than just a used one. Refurbs seem to come with at least a year warranty. Thoughts?
Refurbish warranty is worthless. They don’t do anything to it by a modern machine that still has HP’s warranty if you’re worried. I have at least 50 of these in service and I’ve never needed any warranty service from HP
 

dabflyboy

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Refurbish warranty is worthless. They don’t do anything to it by a modern machine that still has HP’s warranty if you’re worried. I have at least 50 of these in service and I’ve never needed any warranty service from HP
My God man, what are you doing with 50 PCs???
 

fenderman

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Holy smokes dude. So would you go with a Dell or an HP, then? Also, where would you recommend I purchase from?
The hp sff is slightly bigger than the dell but it can hold more drives. I prefer hp in general but that is a personal preference.
Something like this can usually be found for about 400 on ebay, if you are patient.
 
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fenderman

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Note that you dont mention your ultimate load so that exact system may not be suitable.
 

dabflyboy

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The hp sff is slightly bigger than the dell but it can hold more drives. I prefer hp in general but that is a personal preference.
Something like this can usually be found for about 400 on ebay, if you are patient.
Gotcha, thanks. I haven't built a system in almost 14 years, so I'm quite out of touch with it all. I still have the thing and I thought about reusing it, but its a monster-sized case.
 
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dabflyboy

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Note that you dont mention your ultimate load so that exact system may not be suitable.
Good point. I already have 2 indoor Hik cubes that I'll keep on the system, and I think I want to add 2-3 outdoor 4MP turrets. Oh, and also a doorbell that works with Blue Iris. So, maybe around 6 cameras?
 
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