PC based DVR vs stand alone upgrade

I have a PC based DVR with 32 cameras (two 16 DH-VEC1604) and need to add additional cameras as well as replace a few. The DVR cards allow up to 525 lines and the system is five years old.

Would I be in better off biting the bullet and replacing the existing cards that supports higher resolution, replace the system and go with a stand alone that supports higher resolution or just add a third card?

The system has 2 one terabyte hard drives that I am going to upgrade if staying with the PC based DVR.

Thank you in advance

Replacing that whole system would be expensive, but I've always seen dedicated units for security cameras as the way to go. If your computer doubles as something else, I would work on phasing it out.

I usually don't recommend the PC based DVR route for anything less than large IP camera systems. In my experience, standalone units (multiple or not), are usually cheaper and a lot less of a headache. People can argue that you have multiple units to deal with instead of just one, but I've never really seen how that's any more difficult that actually building/assembling a PC based DVR; assuming you have the industry and product knowledge on hand to even do this.

If I was in your shoes, I would probably buy a standalone DVR you to see if I liked it more than the DVR cards. Buy some higher resolution cameras with it. Worst case scenario, you hate the standalone unit and return it for a higher res DVR card.

It kind of depends on how much the cards are I'd say. That and whether he system will take them without requiring some kind of reimage or rebuild. Personally I'd be wary of part requirements and how well supported a 5 year old pc system would be