Storefront PC Build w/ POS

Robert ninja

I'm building a system that is going to be connected to a POS, touchscreen. All I need is the actual computer tower and components but it needs to be as cost effective as possible without sacraficing reliability. Keeping it at €500 is the goal

I've been given other systems that have been used as an example to base this system off and here is some of the parts they listed.

Intel i5-2390T
4GB RAM
X2 320GB HDDs (in RAID)
7 USB Ports

So with that I thought about going with

Case: Corsair CC-9011041-WW Carbide Series 200R €82
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI KRAIT EDITION €174
RAM: Crucial BLS4G3D1609DS1S00CEU Sport 4GB €20
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K €85
PSU: EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR €51
Storage: (X2) Seagate ST1000DM003 3.5 inch 1TB Barracuda Hard Drive €100

Small bit over the budget which I can deal with. Would appreciate any opinions and reccomendations on this build. Compatibility checker sites don't list half the stuff I put in them anymore. PC part picker for example. Also not sure where to buy but going with amazon by default for now.

Lu Tze

Robert ninja wrote: »

I'm building a system that is going to be connected to a POS, touchscreen. All I need is the actual computer tower and components but it needs to be as cost effective as possible without sacraficing reliability. Keeping it at €500 is the goal

I've been given other systems that have been used as an example to base this system off and here is some of the parts they listed.

Intel i5-2390T
4GB RAM
X2 320GB HDDs (in RAID)
7 USB Ports

So with that I thought about going with

Case: Corsair CC-9011041-WW Carbide Series 200R €82
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI KRAIT EDITION €174
RAM: Crucial BLS4G3D1609DS1S00CEU Sport 4GB €20
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K €85
PSU: EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR €51
Storage: (X2) Seagate ST1000DM003 3.5 inch 1TB Barracuda Hard Drive €100

Small bit over the budget which I can deal with. Would appreciate any opinions and recommendation on this build. Compatibility checker sites don't list half the stuff I put in them anymore. PC part picker for example. Also not sure where to buy but going with amazon by default for now.

That AMD cpu is not compatible with that mother board (which is for intel CPUs). Im not sure what the requirements are for POS, is all the data stored locally (hence the two hard drives in raid - for backup i presume). I didnt think that there would be much requirements for CPU power, do you need a quad core CPU? I know that they run systems like this on tablets/ipads etc. so i cant imagine it is too onerous.

Also consider the ATX case and motherboards are large and how much space you have available to put it out of the way, if it is limited.

Note also if going for AMD, some of their CPUs dont come with integrated graphics (or at least some of them did not previously) so check the description to be sure.

Robert ninja

I'm not one to judge it if needs such a powerful CPU. THe example they gave is the reference they were comfortable with and all the software seems proprietary. I don't want to go too much weaker than that. What CPU would you reccomend? It would need integrated graphics for sure. There's also cameras going into the system and they record the storefront but I can't figure out the hardware component. XP's device manager on the outdated machine I'm replacing mentions "VCR Inc Device" and "VCH S415, Video Communications Research". No clue where to even begin with that.

As for the size... It doesn't have to be a small case although I don't want a massive one, either. Medium sized would be best.

glynf

VCR Inc Device looks like a crappy capture device that proibably has a few analogue cams attached to it recording onto the XP machine; that would also explain the two HDD's-if you are trying to replace like for like.

Most digital signage has gone the Nuc route with basic digital signage software locally with web based content thats accessed through a web browser to upload & schedule content.


I misread the original post, POS should run on most bog standard windows machines. A separate recorder for the cameras would be a better option, basic 4 channel DVR's can be got for <€200. Way more stable than DVR software running on windows as well.

Digital Solitude

Go an MATX build ID say

i3 4160 €120
H81M board €70
2tb HDDs for RAID €100
Case €100
4gb RAM €25
300w PSU €30
250gb SSD €65
Total €510

A Pentium is likely fast enough but I've no idea

grindle

The POS in our shops & many other bigger retailers is running off an ooooooolllllld laptop Celeron w/DDR2 SODIMMs.

Maybe this POS has a major amount bells'n'whistles but I'd imagine almost anything recent-ish will blast through it.

Robert ninja

@Digital Solitude

What case do you reccomend? I don't think I'll be spending €100 on it, though.

@glynf

What kind of 'recorder' would I get for the cameras? This is beyond my experience and not what I was expecting to have to purchase but if I have no choice... I'll just be happy not to have to consider them in the main build.

@grindle

Nah you're probably right... I doubt I need a powerful CPU but I still don't want to get a terribly weak one.

glynf

How many and what type cameras, analogue or IP? Let me know and I can recommend something..

grindle

Robert ninja wrote: »

Nah you're probably right... I doubt I need a powerful CPU but I still don't want to get a terribly weak one.

Yeah, you might not "need" but you'll definitely "want".

Trying to multitask on it reveals the true meaning of our POS.

Robert ninja

There's the cameras hooked up to it. How would I cater these for a new build if I have to?

glynf

Looks like a Geovision card or similar, basically a 4 channel capture card with PC based DVR software. Old hat at this stage, even for analogue cameras. You could reinstall the card and run some free software like PSS or similar, but windows based DVR's are a disaster-resource hogs, unreliable, buggy and will slow down your PC to a crawl if searching, exporting etc.

Best option if you want to re use those cams is to get a basic 4 channel DVR and separate them from your PC. Don't have much to do with analogue cams these days, but lots of cheap but functional stuff out there like IC realtime & Hikivision.
TBH those cameras look ancient, maybe a better option to replace with 4 basic 720/1080p IP cameras; most manufacturers supply basic NVR software that’s usually free for up to 4 cameras such as Axis, Pelco, even Milestone- that can run on most basic windows machines.

Robert ninja

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Go an MATX build ID say

i3 4160 €120
H81M board €70
2tb HDDs for RAID €100
Case €100
4gb RAM €25
300w PSU €30
250gb SSD €65
Total €510

A Pentium is likely fast enough but I've no idea

Any ideas where to buy? Last place I bought everyone's saying not to buy there anymore.

glynf wrote: »

Looks like a Geovision card or similar,~

A 4 channel DVR. Any idea where I could buy one of those? Are they easy to setup? Would they record the storefront or just recieve the camera signals?

Digital Solitude

Amazon as its a stores PC, you'll want easy returns in case of DOA parts

justsomebloke

If this is going into a commercial environment don't build your own. Get something from Dell, HP etc that at least comes with a 3 year Next business day support contract. Other then that you could easily find yourself up sh1ts creek without a paddle.

Also I'm assuming you'll also have to add a windows licence to the cost of any self build