$300~ Server Recommendation

[codyst]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to transition from my Foscam 4ch NVR to a small server. I am looking for a rig that is capable of running Blue Iris recording 5 IP cams 24/7, Plex, and tinkering with virtualization.

Anyone have any insight on good deals or any trustworthy eBay sellers that offer this?

Most threads I have come across on here are 1.5+ years old and the prices in them, at the time, were around $300 which sounds reasonable.

I am located in Austin, TX.

Thanks!

 

[bp2008]

Here are some. None of these are new enough to support H.265 hardware acceleration (which is currently non-functional in Blue Iris anyway) but they all support H.264 hardware acceleration.

Lenovo M92p ThinkCentre Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz 8GB RAM 500GB HDD Win8.1Pro | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF / Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz / 8GB / 1TB / Windows 10 b | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF/ Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz / 8GB / 1TB HD / Windows 10 Pro | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Desktop i7-4770 3.40GHz 8GB 1TB HDD DVD+RW Windows 10 | eBay

HP Elitedesk 800 G1 SFF i7 4770 3.4ghz 8GB 500GB Windows 10 1yr Wty - Free Ship | eBay

You can go cheaper by choosing an i5 instead of an i7, but you lose perhaps 20-30% CPU performance by doing so.

I recommend a minimum of 8 GB of RAM for 5+ cameras.

It is best to dedicate a machine to Blue Iris for reliability's sake. This isn't a strict requirement as much as it is a best-practice type of thing. If something else on the system is competing with Blue Iris for resources, it could mean bad things like video corruption due to dropped frames, or complete failure to record an important event. A lot of people come on here complaining of crazy problems with their BI machine and refuse to reinstall the OS because they've got that computer doing everything short of washing the dishes.

If you want to play with virtualization on this machine I suggest you use Hyper-V which is a native part of Windows -- you just need to install it through Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off. This way you can run Blue Iris in the host OS, use hardware acceleration, and not pay the virtualization tax on everything Blue Iris does.

 

[codyst]

My cameras are only being recorded at 1280x720 @ 20fps so nothing too taxing it seems.

Thank you very much for the list! The 4770 is probably what I'll go for.

 

[codyst]

Here are some. None of these are new enough to support H.265 hardware acceleration (which is currently non-functional in Blue Iris anyway) but they all support H.264 hardware acceleration.

Lenovo M92p ThinkCentre Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz 8GB RAM 500GB HDD Win8.1Pro | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF / Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz / 8GB / 1TB / Windows 10 b | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF/ Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz / 8GB / 1TB HD / Windows 10 Pro | eBay

Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF Desktop i7-4770 3.40GHz 8GB 1TB HDD DVD+RW Windows 10 | eBay

HP Elitedesk 800 G1 SFF i7 4770 3.4ghz 8GB 500GB Windows 10 1yr Wty - Free Ship | eBay

You can go cheaper by choosing an i5 instead of an i7, but you lose perhaps 20-30% CPU performance by doing so.

I recommend a minimum of 8 GB of RAM for 5+ cameras.

It is best to dedicate a machine to Blue Iris for reliability's sake. This isn't a strict requirement as much as it is a best-practice type of thing. If something else on the system is competing with Blue Iris for resources, it could mean bad things like video corruption due to dropped frames, or complete failure to record an important event. A lot of people come on here complaining of crazy problems with their BI machine and refuse to reinstall the OS because they've got that computer doing everything short of washing the dishes.

If you want to play with virtualization on this machine I suggest you use Hyper-V which is a native part of Windows -- you just need to install it through Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off. This way you can run Blue Iris in the host OS, use hardware acceleration, and not pay the virtualization tax on everything Blue Iris does.

What are your thoughts on this system I found a few miles from me?

Bare Bones 3.3 Ghz 4-Core Mini PC/Server/NAS, 16gb Ram, 0-16TB storage

It looks like a steal and overkill at that. I am seriously considering hopping on this.

 

[bp2008]

That isn't a good value. All that has over the ones on ebay is more drive bays and more RAM that you shouldn't need anyway. Otherwise the CPU is actually slower and it doesn't come with a Windows license.

He also linked an overpriced HDD and is probably using the much cheaper ~$85 refurbished variety. Not that there is anything wrong with those. But the one he linked is a $200 listing.

 

[codyst]

That isn't a good value. All that has over the ones on ebay is more drive bays and more RAM that you shouldn't need anyway. Otherwise the CPU is actually slower and it doesn't come with a Windows license.

He also linked an overpriced HDD and is probably using the much cheaper ~$85 refurbished variety. Not that there is anything wrong with those. But the one he linked is a $200 listing.

I ended up purchasing 2 seperate systems from eBay (I went down the rabbit hole). They are both Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF systems running i7-4770 processors. 1 system comes with 16gb of ram and the other with 8gb. They both come with 1TB HDD's. I also ordered a Samsung 860 EVO 250gb SSD and a WD Blue 4TB HDD from newegg before I even thought about purchasing the second system because the intent was to just throw the SSD and the 4TB drive into the rig to run Blue Iris and Plex. But now that I bought both PC's I am trying to decide how I want to proceed, drive wise.

My current 4ch Foscam NVR has a 1TB drive and can hold pretty much an exact month of 24/7 recording. So I THINK my plan with these 2 new systems is to install ONLY Blue Iris on the 8GB RAM system and leave the 1TB HDD in. With the 16GB ram system I think I am going to put the SSD and the 4TB HDD in and possibly install ProxMox or some other Hypervisor to run Plex, a seedbox (ruTorrent maybe? I used it a few years back), and just use it as a NAS type box.

Any suggestions are more than welcome!