Affordable quiet mini PC for running a Bitcoin node and blockchain explorer

I'm looking to set up my own Bitcoin node and a block explorer, using Start9 to simplify the explorer part. Trying to keep costs down since this is just for personal use, and I’m also putting all my extra cash into buying Bitcoin. Coming from a Mac background, I’m not too savvy with PCs, so I could use some guidance. I have a few Raspberry Pi 3Bs for home automation, but the Start9 docs say to avoid using a Pi for a Bitcoin node, plus mine are kind of outdated. So I think I need a mini PC for the job. Here’s what I’m after: - Energy-efficient. - Compact, since I'll want to hide it away somewhere. - Headless operation. - Quiet. - SSD instead of HDD; I’ll probably hook up an external SSD for the node. What else should I consider? Any further suggestions? EDIT: I’d prefer a setup that doesn’t require any modifications. Coming from Mac, a lot of PC jargon is just confusing for me.

dell hp Lenovo all make a Mac mini sized unit. give me a minute I will find links ------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.ebay.com/itm/334266133509?  this has a 128gb ssd and 8gb ram easy peasy to upgrade it is 90 usd https://www.ebay.com/itm/186174116413?  this has an i7 and 16gb ram.  you need to upgrade the 512gb ssd it is 289 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- this one is 311 usd with an i7 7700 16gb ram and 1 tb ssd it is a Lenovo you need to pick options https://www.ebay.com/itm/235398515461? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- this one has 16gb and a 128gb ssd windows 10 pro only 149 https://www.ebay.com/itm/165928451002? so get an i5 or i7 at least sixth gen. cpu  16gb ram and a 1tb ssd so if you do not want to open the gear to mod you can get the Lenovo for $311 shop around I just picked them by searching on eBay Lenovo tiny dell optiplex hp tiny you will find hundreds of them. you can get a good unit for under 350 even less if you know how to mod.

All tiny PCs have these characteristics, they are small and quiet. I would follow up on a philipma, at least an i5 of the sixth generation (if the budget allows, look at younger ones as well). And considering that the computer will work 24/7, power consumption is worth paying attention to. Isn't it better to have one SSD for OS and another for data? For example 128GB + 1TB

Even if it isn't "better," that's my plan.  I always keep media and large storage on an external drive.  It's so much easier for future upgrades.  I already have a spare external 2TB SSD, so a 250 GB internal SSD should be more than enough.

no not on these units.  just get a 1 tb ssd and clone it to an external  2tb hdd for an emergency backup. Keep the 2 tb hdd off line. use something like this https://www.amazon.com/GLOTRENDS-Protection-Resistant-Photography-B86/dp/B01LXO6HLG/ref=sr_1_4? If you have serious money or really important data make 2 or 3 back ups.

I definitely don't have serious money.  I'm spending every dollar on sats, especially before the halving. I'm leaning toward going with this: DELL OptiPlex 5050 Micro Form Factor (Intel Core i5-7600T, 16 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD) $135 And like I said, I already have a USB external 2 TB SSD that I'll use for storage. EDIT:  I bought it.  This should be a fun project.

I was going to add the i5-7600T's TDP is 35W. For low power, I prefer processors with a TDP as low as possible. I recently measured one of my Celeron laptops, it consumes <4W idle. I'm still looking for a few more spare laptops, they're cheap and very convenient to have around for projects. It beats a VM

That mini PC looks good. Anyway, take note external storage isn't very reliable. In few cases, there's not enough power if you use multiple USB port at once which cause random disconnect. And if you use OS or package which setup almost everything with you, be careful it may use internal storage to store blockchain files by default.

yeah but it will almost never pull that. especially since he has an external ssd  doing more heavy lifting. at the op that unit is pretty good for that price. let us know now how the setup works.

If you want totally silent solution than I would recommend checking out Raspberry Pi400 that has built in mini keyboard. You can easily add external SSD drive or ultra fast SD card, it works very good with both. Regular Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 device can also be used and modified to work in silent mode. Intel NUC devices are a good silent alternative and they can be found used for a good price, just make sure to have strong enough processor and ram memory. There are also open source laptops that work in similar way like raspberry pi, they are have passive cooling, but they are much more expensive.

Start9 says not to use it on a Raspberry Pi for Bitcoin though. From the Start9 online docs:

The dell black box. (Dell PC 5000) https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/embedded-box-pc-5000/docs (Used in police cars,fedex trucks and more) pn:N01PC I ran a node on one for almost 3 years. If you like tinkering in general this things a beast. the case is a giant heatsink. no fans. GPIO 8 pin GPIO 4 serial ports. lots of uses. Im sure the system will outlast whatever HDD you slap in it.

I don't know when this warning was written but it's probably related with Rpi's low ram and processing power, or for older devices that are usually weaker. I know several people who managed to run bitcoin nodes on Rpi4 without any issues, but things could change recently. Anyway, whenever you want to buy something cheap you know that you will have to make some compromises, whatever device you choose. Some interesting Rpi alternatives to consider: https://beebom.com/best-raspberry-pi-4-alternatives/

It's relatively recent.  Older versions of their docs don't have it, but they now have a warning that they're out of date and they link to the version with it.

To be exact, it's because rising total UTXO which doesn't fit even on Raspberry Pi 4 8GB variant which heavily affect IBD (initial block download). See https://community.start9.com/t/raspberry-pi-no-longer-recommended-for-use-with-bitcoin-stack/779. Although after IBD, Raspberry Pi 4 is still fine to run a node.

I recently did an IBD on a laptop with 8 GB RAM: Because of the lack of RAM, the IBD wrote 4.58 TB to disk. So it's possible, but comes at a price.

Thanks for sharing your experiment. Anyway, total 4.58TB write is insane. It would cut significant lifespan of cheap/low-end SSD, especially when i see few people claim they use their old or unused SSD.

Here's what I bought: DELL OptiPlex 5050 Micro. Intel Core i5-7600T, 16 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD It took forever to ship, but hey, it's here and all is well.  It came with a mouse and a pretty decent keyboard, which was a nice surprise. I've already got Start9 installed & Bitcoin Core is syncing.  I assume it'll take a week.  My internet isn't particularly fast since the most demanding thing I do online is stream HD movies. I had no issues at all with setting up an external 2 TB SSD for storage.  Start9 asked where I wanted to store everything & I chose the external drive.  Easy peasy. Based on how easy it was to get this sucker up and running, I regret not doing this a year ago.  Ah well!  Better late than never. As a Mac guy, I can't believe that in the year 2024, people still tolerate buying PCs that come with stickers on them.  I tried peeling off that stupid Intel Inside sticker but there's still some residual glue goo.  Eh, I'll get around to removing that later. Anyway...  so far, so good!

I don't know how much you paid for this configuration, but I found similar configuration below $100 locally but with smaller SSD, so it's not a bad price, but I am not sure it is going to be totally silent. Just make sure to keep it in good ventilated space and you should be fine. Small tip: It's easy to remove all that residue (and stickers) with WD-40 spray

$135.  I assume part of what I paid for was the form factor.  It's the OptiPlex Micro, so it's quite small. (OptiPlex.  What a stupid name.  That's so very "Dell") It's been running now for 48 hours.  Almost totally silent, and it runs pretty cool.  I have to put my ear up against it to hear even the slightest hum.  And my internet is faster than I thought.  I should have the whole blockchain synced up by the end of the night. I've been pleasantly surprised by how easy Start9 was to set up.