Using old PC for DVR

[andyh747 0]

I am looking to utilise an old PC as a temporary measure for recording footage from 6 analogue cameras. The spec of the PC is below and would appreciate anyone recommending any DVR cards which might do what I need. As mentioned this is an interim measure until I am able to purchase a suitable DVR and have all cameras installed. The spec of the old PC is below:

 

AMD Athlon XP2600 333mhz 512 L2 Cache Barton Processor

Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe SKTA NVNorce2ST ATX 8xAGP Giga LAN, SATA, Firewire, 6 channel Audio, USB2 Dual chan. DDR +WiFi slot (up to DDR400) Motherboard

500GB SATA HDD

RAM: 512mb but upgradeable to 3GB

 

Realise this is an old PC and may not be up to it at all but if anyone can advise would be much appreciated.

[andyh747 0]

Thanks for the reply.

 

I suspect this PC is going to struggle so I may just take the plunge and buy a dedicated DVR. Probably more hassle trying to get this old beast up and running.

[davidjoe897 0]

[mod edit: spam post removed]

[Soundy 1]

OP: when we were building our own VideoInsight DVRs, most of the machines we used had pretty similar specs to what you list above. At the time, they were pretty skookum; there's no reason the specs wouldn't work as well now as they did then.

[rory 0]

If using a new card and software then it will struggle, most new software is developed on new dual core systems with much more memory and hard drives 4 times the speed ..id suggest dumping that old PC if even just to save yourself a headache trying to troubleshoot old bad hardware. If you have a really small budget then check out a more modern refurbished PC at least with SATA and DDR2. Otherwise you could easily build a brand new PC for under $200 (plus OS and labour). Additionally many cards prefer Intel chipsets, though sometimes Nvidia will work but in this case its a really old chipset.

 

If you do decide to try it, get the most basic DVR card you can get your hands on.

Im using a Celeron 2.8Ghz in the field still, with 512MB DDR 400 and an old IDE drive, but its slow as heck and its running the old legacy DVR software from way back when. I dont generally support it anymore though, recommended they replace it years ago Does it work? Sure, somewhat, biggest problem is aging hardware and failures.

 

I worked on another one, the HD went bad and the OS etc had to be replaced, the manufacturer no longer had the old software so had to use the new one, CPU usage stayed at 90% or so even in CIF mode and low FPS, with audio enabled or higher resolution it crashed right away. It works still, even though barely and they live with the occasional crash, but its limited.

 

Throw the extra RAM in it though and that should help.

[andyh747 0]

Thanks for all the detailed replies guys. Much appreciated. I think it's flogging a dead horse trying to get the old one to work!

 

It's a common question but I'm now asking myself whether to go for a PC system or standalone. I'm tempted by standalone as it's designed specifically for that purpose and should work out of the box. However I am quite good with PCs and have built a couple in my time. I also want to be able to use both analogue and IP cameras on one recording system. I've been recommended the Averdigi Nano series which is a hybrid standalone. The other advantage of standalone is form factor allowing them to be rack mounted either on the rack rails or on a rack shelf. However I guess this is also possible with PC systems now? The Averdigi Nano also appears to be very quiet as it's fan free I believe.

 

I know there's no easy answers but would appreciate any advice on pros and cons for my situation. Here's what I have so far:

 

CNB Dome Cameras with IR x 6

Vivotek IP7138 indoor camera x 1

 

Need to plan for an additional 2 indoor cameras and 2 outdoor cameras.

 

I want a system which can have the feed output to a touch monitor in one of the bedrooms to make access easy without needing keyboard or mouse.

 

Standing by for lots of advice