Low power i7 suggestions.

[schuits]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a i7 solution to run my CCTV system on at home.
I specifically want a dedicated PC because I have blue iris and want to keep using it.

Currently I'm using my first gen i7 which is running 24/7 at 80% CPU, it's not very efficient.

I'm not sure if I should be looking for a laptop or maybe a mini fanless solution. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[HavocXphere]

Are you sure you want to spend $$$ to improve elec usage by 50W?

 

[Rickster]

What about AMD Rizen?

 

[schuits]

Are you sure you want to spend $$$ to improve elec usage by 50W?

Well yeah it does seem a bit of a waste so I'm still in 2 minds.
I should actually do some calculations to see what the savings could be.

 

[Ancalagon]

How many threads does the program use? Is it using 80% of one core or 80% of all cores?

If it is a first gen i7 that you have, then you don't necessarily need to upgrade to a current gen i7. A current gen i5 or AMD Ryzen R5 would be faster and more power efficient.

 

[schuits]

That's a possibility.
They recommend an i7 with Quicksync. So I'll see which less expensive CPU's support that.

 

[Ancalagon]

I think i3s, i5s and i7s support that these days.

EDIT: Let's put it this way. You have an i7 with 4 cores and no QuickSync. They recommend an i7 with quick sync.

I think you should be fine as long as you have at least 4 cores and quicksync, which these days means an i3, not an i7. An i7 has 6 cores, hyperthreading and QuickSync.

Or get an i5, which will have QuickSync and 6 cores but no hyperthreading.

 

[HavocXphere]

Well yeah it does seem a bit of a waste so I'm still in 2 minds.
I should actually do some calculations to see what the savings could be.

The other thing is what happens to the old box?

It does in a way create extra e-waste that isn't really necessary.

That said I do see the appeal of shiny new toys so no judgement here.

Actually kinda surprised this isn't GPU accelerated

 

[Soul Assassin]

The other thing is what happens to the old box?

It does in a way create extra e-waste that isn't really necessary.

That said I do see the appeal of shiny new toys so no judgement here.

Actually kinda surprised this isn't GPU accelerated

QuickSync is part of the iGPU on the processor so technically it is GPU accelerated.

 

[schuits]

The other thing is what happens to the old box?

It does in a way create extra e-waste that isn't really necessary.

That said I do see the appeal of shiny new toys so no judgement here.

Actually kinda surprised this isn't GPU accelerated

The old box is actually my gaming rig. So I'm keeping that. Surprisingly it still runs most games fairly well.

Whatever I'll get it will be second hand. And from the sounds of it I may even get away with an i3.

 

[Soul Assassin]

The old box is actually my gaming rig. So I'm keeping that. Surprisingly it still runs most games fairly well.

Whatever I'll get it will be second hand. And from the sounds of it I may even get away with an i3.

I found this:

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris

and if that is anything to go by I'd go with this:

DELL OptiPlex 5040

This is also something to consider:

I recommended Skylake (6xxx series) and newer because this generation and newer has H.265 acceleration hardware which may be usable by Blue Iris in the future.

or you can get an i7 7700 for R3021 or i5 7500 for R1995 and build your own around that.

 

[schuits]

Damn links are blocked at work. I'll check them out later. Thanks!