Hardware Specifications

The TetherBox software is compatible with Intel/AMD and ARM-based systems running Linux. This guide helps select appropriate hardware for various deployment sizes.

Unit Types

Prices checked 22 July 2026. UK prices ex VAT; Australian prices ex GST.

• TetherBox (Raspberry Pi): Recommended for up to 10 cameras. Use a Raspberry Pi 5 with cooling and a suitable USB SSD or M.2 drive. The aluminium Argon NEO 5 case provides passive heatsink cooling and a built-in fan: UK £15 ex VAT AU A$28.73 ex GST. An AI HAT or M.2 HAT needs a case with clearance for the HAT and active cooler. The KKSB Raspberry Pi 5 M.2 HAT case supports NVMe HATs and the official Raspberry Pi AI HAT: UK £15.77 ex VAT AU A$38.90 ex GST. For M.2 storage only, the Argon NEO 5 M.2 NVMe case includes its own expansion board: UK £29 ex VAT AU A$59.09 ex GST.
• Pico (mini PC): An Intel N100 or N150 system handles around 16 to 20 cameras. Current UK builds use the Shuttle XPC DL30N with an Intel N100: UK £203.32 ex VAT AU A$490 ex GST. RAM and storage are extra. Good alternatives include Gigabyte Mini PC barebones and ASUS Mini PCs.
• Giga (rackmount or tower): Used for larger deployments and sized to the site. Giga hardware can be built from standard motherboard and CPU components, bought as a configured rackmount system, or sourced from manufacturers such as Dell. Two current pre-built examples are listed below.

Pre-built Giga Examples

Prices checked 22 July 2026 are ex VAT and exclude delivery and Linux installation. Camera estimates use the CPU reference table. Storage examples use the 30-day 4K estimate in the quick summary below.

• Around 64 cameras: Configure a Broadberry CyberServe Ryzen RY1-104 UK with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and 32 GB RAM. The CPU table estimates capacity for 99 cameras, leaving headroom over the 64-camera target. The 1U chassis has four 3.5-inch and four 2.5-inch hot-swap bays, with eight onboard SATA connections and M.2 storage for the operating system. The checked configuration was about £2,474.89 ex VAT before recording drives. Four 18 TB enterprise drives using Linux software RAID5 brought it to about £4,474.33 ex VAT, with 54 TB usable against the 48 TB estimate. No hardware RAID controller is required.
• Around 128 cameras: Configure a Broadberry CyberServe RY1 406A UK with an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, 48 GB ECC RAM, a 700 W power supply, and a Broadcom 9560 RAID controller. The CPU table estimates capacity for 143 cameras. The short-depth 4U chassis accepts eight 3.5-inch drives. The checked configuration was about £3,843.13 ex VAT before recording drives. Adding eight 18 TB enterprise drives brought it to about £7,842.01 ex VAT, with 108 TB usable in RAID6 against the 96 TB estimate. A Dell PowerEdge R7625 UK AU configured with an AMD EPYC 9654 is the equivalent corporate-vendor option, but costs considerably more and should be quoted for the required storage.

Quick Summary

Most TetherBox deployments need three things: a CPU with enough power for your camera count, enough RAM, and reliable storage for recordings - and an appropriate graphics processor if you require AI analytics. Here is a quick overview:

All camera capacity estimates assume the recommended per-stream settings in camera configuration. See CPU recommendations for how changing those settings affects capacity.

Popular configuration: An Intel N100-based mini PC with 8 GB RAM and a USB SSD handles up to 19 cameras. For Raspberry Pi deployments see Raspberry Pi TetherBox.

For detailed specifications, continue to the sections below.

CPU Requirements

CPU sizing drives how many cameras a TetherBox can handle. Use GeekBench 6 Multi-Core scores as the benchmark and divide by 150 to estimate 4K camera capacity (under the recommended camera configuration).

Quick reference points:

• Intel N100 (2,840 pts) → ~19 cameras - popular configuration
• Raspberry Pi 5 (1,600 pts) → ~11 cameras - space-constrained deployments
• Intel Xeon E-2336 (7,772 pts) → ~52 cameras - mid-range rack server
• Intel Core i5-14600K (16,065 pts) → ~107 cameras - high-density
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (21,440 pts) → ~143 cameras - large enterprise

See CPU Recommendations for the full benchmark methodology, complete CPU reference table (45+ models), per-deployment-size picker, and how camera configuration changes effective capacity.

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 5 has a benchmark estimate of 11 cameras and is recommended for deployments of up to 10; Raspberry Pi 4 handles up to 4. Ideal for space-constrained or low-power locations such as lamp posts, vehicles, or hidden mounts. Cooling and a suitable USB SSD (or M.2 HAT) are mandatory for reliable 24/7 recording.

See Raspberry Pi TetherBox for full guidance, optionally including the Raspberry Pi AI Hat+ / AI Hat 2 (Hailo-10H accelerator for on-device AI analytics on up to 4 cameras).

RAM Requirements

Formula: 2 GB minimum, plus ~1 GB per 4 cameras at standard analytics (≤720p). High-resolution analytics (>720p) needs roughly 1.5× more RAM.

Storage Requirements

Storage depends on resolution, motion activity, and retention period. Below are estimates for 30 days retention per camera including video recording and a 720p snapshot every 5 seconds (24/7):

Recommended Storage Hardware

Continuous 24/7 recording demands drives with sustained-write endurance: NAS or Surveillance-class HDDs (Seagate IronWolf/SkyHawk, WD Red/Purple, Toshiba N300/S300) or high-TBW SSDs (WD Red SN700, Samsung 990 Pro, Seagate IronWolf 525). Never use USB memory sticks, SD cards, or SMR drives - they fail rapidly under continuous writes. Connect external drives via USB 3.0 or better.

For specific model recommendations, TBW endurance comparisons, USB enclosure guidance, drive selection by camera count, and storage performance troubleshooting, see Storage Hardware Recommendations.

Graphics / GPU

Standard deployments: No dedicated GPU required. TetherBox uses onboard graphics or CPU for processing.

Hardware acceleration: TetherBox automatically utilises Nvidia, AMD, or Intel dedicated graphics when available.

Analytics: Out of the box, TetherBox leverages any analytics built into your Cameras or recorder. For edge analytics requirements (local AI/ML processing), please contact TetherX support to discuss GPU requirements for your specific use case.

Operating System Installation

For complete installation instructions including partitioning and configuration, see Installing Operating System.

Cloud Backup (optional)

For off-site redundancy, enable TetherX Cloud Backup to protect critical footage against theft, damage, or local disasters.

References

• CPU Monkey - Compare CPU performance across generations
• GeekBench Browser - Search specific CPU benchmarks