Always on windows device
- Thread starter nbabb
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The cheapest, smallest, lowest power Windows machines I know of that could run Blue Iris are based on the Atom Z3735F CPU (or similar). They cost $100-200 for the complete system and likely use less than 10 watts power. This is considerably higher energy usage than a raspberry pi, but less than any other option. The trouble here is that these are seriously slow machines. They might run one or two 2MP cameras if you use direct to disk and a very low frame rate. Some other NVR softwares are a lot more efficient than Blue Iris and would run acceptably on a machine this slow, but they usually cost a lot more money.
A step up is Intel NUC machines. These are fast enough to handle a few cameras in Blue Iris (assuming you buy one of the faster models) while still remaining small and fairly efficient. The problem with these is you pay a premium for that tiny form factor. The NUC itself, which is a CPU, motherboard, case, and power supply, is going to cost between $300 and $475 depending on the speed. Add RAM, small disk, and OEM windows license and you've increased the price another $200 or so.
Your best bet is to find one of the many other threads recommending refurbished i5 or i7 machines and follow the advice there. Ultra small form factor dell workstations go on sale once or twice a month and are much faster and much cheaper than a NUC.
A step up is Intel NUC machines. These are fast enough to handle a few cameras in Blue Iris (assuming you buy one of the faster models) while still remaining small and fairly efficient. The problem with these is you pay a premium for that tiny form factor. The NUC itself, which is a CPU, motherboard, case, and power supply, is going to cost between $300 and $475 depending on the speed. Add RAM, small disk, and OEM windows license and you've increased the price another $200 or so.
Your best bet is to find one of the many other threads recommending refurbished i5 or i7 machines and follow the advice there. Ultra small form factor dell workstations go on sale once or twice a month and are much faster and much cheaper than a NUC.
This is probably the lowest horsepower/power consumption configuration I've heard of ...
http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=9372.msg55936#msg55936
Like bp2008 said though, unless you are only looking to run 1-2 cameras, look at the ultra small form factor by Dell or HP's similar systems. This one has enough power to handle a modest BI setup, but you'd probably end up hanging some kind of external disk off of it for your recordings. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-EliteDes...037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aeb5804b5.
http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=9372.msg55936#msg55936
Like bp2008 said though, unless you are only looking to run 1-2 cameras, look at the ultra small form factor by Dell or HP's similar systems. This one has enough power to handle a modest BI setup, but you'd probably end up hanging some kind of external disk off of it for your recordings. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-EliteDes...037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aeb5804b5.
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Did you actually run up the numbers without using the maximum rated power consumption of a laptop's power supply?
Be aware that Blue Iris has to do a lot of analysis, not just codec stream decoding.
Conservative rule of thumb for power is $0.11 per W per month constantly on (that's for 15 cents per kWh). Here in TX we are well below that. It will take you a decades to pay off even a cheap PC--you only save the differential.
(730 hrs per month =365*24/12; $0.15 per kWh * 730 h = $109.5 for a kW for a month; $109.5 for a kW for a month ~ $0.11 for a W for a month; so even at a full 200 W differential, you are talking $2 per month saved. If the new PC sets you back $200, it will take you 100 months for break even, over 8 years)
Moral of the story: little things adding up ain't all its cracked up to be.
(730 hrs per month =365*24/12; $0.15 per kWh * 730 h = $109.5 for a kW for a month; $109.5 for a kW for a month ~ $0.11 for a W for a month; so even at a full 200 W differential, you are talking $2 per month saved. If the new PC sets you back $200, it will take you 100 months for break even, over 8 years)
Moral of the story: little things adding up ain't all its cracked up to be.
fenderman
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- Mar 9, 2014
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Welcome to the forum..your math is off...a 200w differential always on 24/7 will make a 262 dollar difference in your electric bill yearly...200wx.11=22 dollars monthly not 2 dollars.
http://www.electricity-usage.com/El...ice=&Watts=200&CostPerKWH=0.15&HoursPerDay=24
folks on the east and west coast pay much more than 15c a kwh..anywhere between 20-35c...so the difference would be greater...power consumption should be a huge consideration for an always on pc/nvr.
Yeah, you're right. It's more like $20 a month. Went a little fast there. I guess whether that matters much is a family finances type of thing. The 200W estimate I used is way off, though, intentionally over the top conservative. Laptops don't use anywhere near their power supplies rating, especially when the screen is off. So let's say its a more reasonable $5 per month for a 50 W differential. I think we can agree that if you have need of a surveillance system then $5 per month is in the noise.
Regional differences don't really work with these types of analyses--$20 in Dallas is not the same thing as $20 in Boston. Too many of the opportunity costs are different. In Dallas (I am in a DFW suburb) that $20 buys me a cheap steak dinner. In Boston, maybe a chicken sandwich. So Boston folks pay their electric bill with chicken sandwiches while we pay with steaks. So bumping up the price of the electricity in the math equalizes things--Boston pays with steaks at $0.25 per kWh.
Regional differences don't really work with these types of analyses--$20 in Dallas is not the same thing as $20 in Boston. Too many of the opportunity costs are different. In Dallas (I am in a DFW suburb) that $20 buys me a cheap steak dinner. In Boston, maybe a chicken sandwich. So Boston folks pay their electric bill with chicken sandwiches while we pay with steaks. So bumping up the price of the electricity in the math equalizes things--Boston pays with steaks at $0.25 per kWh.
fenderman
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In terms of cost/reward ratio the only factor the price of a new machine vs the price of running and paying the increased electric bill...cost of living is irrelevant...
Often I well see folks using old quad core q6600 machines, that generally idle a near 100w and can consumer close to 200 under load....vs a modern i3 haswell machine that is more powerful than the q6600 and idles at 20-30 and peaks at 70 - 80...these machines can be had super cheap at the dell outlet...i5 haswells routinely go for around 300... i3's even less...
Its really simple to make these calculations, all the user needs is a cheap killawatt meter and measure the pc under its normal loads.....more often than not its worth upgrading to a new pc.
I didn't check your math but I've done my own before. I'm currently running a desktop machine 24/7 because I know it would take a long time for a NUC to pay for itself. Moreover, I use that particular desktop often myself and waiting even 30 seconds for it to boot up is absolutely unacceptable. I hate even the 7 seconds it takes to power on the monitor.
Also, people continually, habitually fail to recognize that waste heat is only a problem when you're cooling a house (i.e. AC). In the winter it really doesn't matter at all. It may not be quite as efficient as gas, if you use gas to heat, but it's not all thrown away. In my area we heat more than we cool, although summer electricity rates are much, much higher than winter, too.
fenderman
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- Mar 9, 2014
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Do you know how much your machine consumes at idle? What processor and video card. The heat output is extremely inefficient and is counter balanced in the warm months because you need to cool it... It's a really simple calculation with a 15 dollar meter...
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I don't think heat output from a PC is inefficient; it is waste heat. Electric heating by its definition is by making electricity move inefficiently through wires to produce heat. After whatever energy is used to make work (sound, light), pretty much all watts that get to a PC end up as heat, same as if they ran through a heating coil. Some people still heat with electricity, so for them the PC is exactly as efficient (or inefficient) as any other electric heat!
But yes it is counterbalanced, perhaps more so because in the summer kWh costs go up. If you live in Alaska, not much point worrying about it
But yes it is counterbalanced, perhaps more so because in the summer kWh costs go up. If you live in Alaska, not much point worrying about it
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