what is a good PC for IP Camera System

[irmocamguy 0]

Hello guys,

 

I am a fare knowledgeable in DVR system configuration, but I am new to IP Camera world. I need your best recommendation on the good PC specification for IP Camera system. I am planing to install about 8-10 IP Cameras indoor and outdoor. the megapixel of each camera starts from 2.0 MG - 4MP. in order to build a good decent PC I need your best recommendation in this regards.

and what other things i need to put in consideration when building an IP Cam system .

 

Thank in advance for your help.

[camera-newbie 0]

I'd probably get a nice speedy Intel Z68 based motherboard at the very least. They can take up to the i7 CPU's or as low as the i3's for most boards. I've got an Asus and it's very frugal power-wise aside from being a workhorse. Also, it'd probably be a good idea to get a board with a true Intel gigabit ethernet adapter instead of some which have the Realtek ethernet ports which I gather are not quite as good. Just my $0.02 worth..

[MaxIcon 0]

A lot depends on which NVR software you're going to run, and whether it's just a recorder or will be running client software as well. Decoding and viewing the video streams can use a lot of CPU cycles, so an all-in-one NVR or client/server combo requires more horsepower than a simple NVR.

 

For that many cams in that MP range, I'd look at an i5 system, and would seriously consider an i7 if the incremental costs aren't a big deal, if you'll be running a client on the box. The camera and NVR costs will outstrip the PC costs quickly.

 

The other big PC question is HD storage space and redundancy - how many hours of video you want to keep and what resolution, whether you want RAID and what level, etc.

 

Also, you'll want to look at powering them. Assuming they'll be all running from a POE switch, you'll want to make sure you have power capacity for all the cams at once, including the night time load of any IR cams. Many inexpensive POE switches either don't supply POE to all ports, or can't supply full power to all ports at once. You'll also want to make sure the switch backplane has the bandwidth to handle all the cams.

[irmocamguy 0]

Thank you pals for your valuable information which at least showing what to expect down the road.

 

my sincere appreciation for your inputs.

[dirkdaring 0]

If its ok, I'd like to piggyback on this thread.

 

Is this PC too weak for this simple home camera setup? It's an old system I have collecting dust. Recording on motion alerts.

 

- ASRock G41M-S LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

- Onboard Video Intel® GMA X4500, DX10)

- Celeron E3200 Wolfdale 2.4GHz Dual Core

- 2GB Ram

- 250GB HD SATA (OS)

- 1.5TB HD SATA (Filestore)

- Windows XP Pro

 

Software: Blue Iris

Cameras:

1x Vivotek FD8134V

1x Vivotek IP8332

2x Foscam FI8910W

[buellwinkle 0]

Many NVR's only come with Atom processors or i3. I have an NVR that used to sell for thousands and the company went bust so I got it cheap on ebay but it's an i3 and barely breaks a sweat. Previously used an Atom processor PC, with vendor provided NVR software, it barely use 10-20% CPU but it was a little slow to respond in general, not just because I ran NVR software on it.

 

If you are going to run any kind of analytics software, then for sure, get an i7 Sandy Bridge PC at the minimum.

 

Get a PC with HDMI out, then you can plug it into a flat panel TV. Nothing like viewing surveillence videos on a 1080P flat panel TV. Mines up on a 32" TV in my office and it looks pretty good. Get a 50" for wow factor.