Dedicated Rackmount Server for BI?

mercfh

Getting the hang of it
Nov 5, 2018
51
26
United States
So im looking into getting a dedicated Rackmount Server for BI. I've seen a few "Desktop" ones thrown around here, but there are some cheap R210 II's (Which have the E3's in them) The Wiki doesn't really say where that falls as far as "capable" of running BI.

It would be a dedicated server, running probably a maximum of 4 cameras. Would something like that be ok? Or would I need much more power?
 
It doesn't have "QuickSync" which apparently is pretty important, but i've seen them around for pretty cheap...so it seems like a decent deal.
 
I assume you are talking about those with E3-1240. Those are roughly equivalent to second-generation i5 chips, minus the quick sync support. Second generation Quick Sync is enough to enable hardware acceleration, but only at 1080p or lower resolution. Really you'd be better off with somewhat newer CPUs from '12 or '13 at least, with Quick Sync support.

That said, if a compact rack-mount case is what you want and you are willing to sacrifice efficiency for it, I'm sure that CPU would handle four 2MP cameras at 15 FPS just fine even considering it doesn't have hardware acceleration. It might not be so good at 8MP cameras though.
 
From talking to my sys-admin friend he basically said the servers aren't worth it because they are giant powerhogs. As much as i'd like a rackmount it'd probably be better to buy some old surplus i-5 desktop computer on ebay. I mean yeah I "could" just grab a rackmount case and then do the same thing but itd probably be more expensive just for convenience.