Can I use an i7 laptop with my configuration?

[cgetch]

Hi,

I have 9 cameras (2 MegaPixel IP) hardwired into a Netgear 48-port Gigabit switch. I can get 4 or 5 running on my old HP MediaSmart laptop, but when I launch all 9, the CPU shoots to 100% and BI freezes, then fails. From the forum, I know I need a newer/better/faster computer. But I need it to be a laptop, and all of the posts seem to be leaning toward the 4th gen i7 desktop/tower. Will the 4th gen i7-4510 work on a laptop? It says the processor speed is 2.0GHz, with a TurboBoost (whatever that is) up to 3.1.

If possible, I'd like this to be my general purpose home computer as well. I rarely run anything that's CPU- or memory-intensive, so the camera setup will be 90+% of the resource usage. (If that won't work, I could leave the HP as the home computer, but would prefer to consolidate.)

Finally, if this setup would work, any suggestions on how to set up the parameters (direct-to-disk, FPS, resolution, etc.)?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[fenderman]

Hi, welcome to the forum, is this the 4510u? http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4510U+@+2.00GHz
If so you will be pushing the limits of the processor and it will most likely not be sufficient unless you really cut back or your settings....even then its going to be at the edge...a desktop i7 4770 is more than double as powerful http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4770+@+3.40GHz
Why is it that you need the machine to be a laptop? It would have to be tethered to Ethernet anyway for decent performance. Ideally you should have a dedicated machine.

 

[cgetch]

Thanks, fenderman. The computer would probably never leave the desk/closet, at least while recording. I need it to be a laptop because we didn't leave room in the computer closet for a desktop or tower, and my built-in desk isn't designed for a full monitor/keyboard/computer setup. For a desktop/tower, I'd probably have to reconfigure something that requires some construction, and/or go to a KVM setup. (And a desktop that lays flat would be MUCH better than a tower.)

I found a laptop with a i7 4710hq processor (benchmark 7922 vs. 9927 for the i7 4770 desktop). http://www.amazon.com/HP-ENVY-i7-4710HQ-Notebook-Laptop/dp/B00D7Z84OY/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1413488365&sr=1-11&keywords=computers

Is that enough power? Or do I just need to bite the bullet and figure out how to reconfigure my room and closet?

BTW, when I was setting up the cameras themselves, I referred to several of your posts as a guest, which were very helpful.

 

[nayr]

why does it have to be a laptop? You realize recording 9 cameras over WiFi isint going to happen.. if your laptop has to be hardwired permanently its no longer a laptop.

secondly; trying to share duty with your NVR and Daily use is a terrible idea.. why not go get a PC-NVR, dedicate it to your cameras and keep your laptop for your daily use? Is there some valid reason why you cant have 2 computers? You dont have to plug a keyboard/monitor into it, it can be headless and the size of a book.. you just use remote desktop to manage it.

 

[fenderman]

While that laptop will work, Consider something like this instead..it is very small and will most likely fit in your spot. 3 year warranty too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ELITEDESK-800-G1-SFF-DESKTOP-500HD-4-RAM-QUAD-CORE-INTEL-I5-4570-WARRANTY-/181503516634?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item2a4273dfda

 

[Lebeter]

nayr is right, scratch the laptop for a dedicated BI nvr. the idea of an nvr is a stable system that will run 24/7 in an environment that has adequate cooling and will not be running other applications which could cause instability with the system. Especially given the constant high cpu load of a BI server. A laptop provides none of this. for one a laptop is designed to be mobile which means they had to engineer a small device which creates a lot of heat for a powerful processor and if you are running a traditional platter hard drive it means even more heat is packed into a chassis with little passive cooling. the cooling relies on a fan that moves air in a limited space but also doesn't eat the battery life. so basically they designed something with severe drawbacks. many high powered laptops have cooling issues, which leads to overheating related instability issues with the hardware/software. there is no point in building a security systems which will be flakey from the start. even a web browser streaming video will eat ram, disk i/o, cpu usage, so to say an BI machine could share duties with a home desktop is a stretch imo. even if the applications you use don't use many resources it doesn't mean they could crash the system or cause instability with buggy software. 9 cameras @ 18MP is going to use around 65-70Mbps of network i/o, even at 15fps which will make your hard disk crawl during writing. prepare for heavy delay using other applications at the same time. you will be fighting for write access to the hard drive while BI is running.

wherever you put the BI server it will need ventilation, so consider that for placement as well. if the desk/cabinet is too small to house a desktop with adequate ventilation, its not going there. stick an overheating prone laptop in a closed space and you are asking for a house fire, or a best a fried laptop. you may have to run power/cat6 to another spot in the house.