used laptops are ideal because if you have a power event the built-in battery allows for a graceful shutdown 

otherwise a power event can corrupt your channel state

This x 1000.

By far best choice! Don't waste time with single board computers. Even a used laptop works. 

Scoresby

Second this. I've run many RPI and they are cool. I've used them for nodes. No way I would buy one for that purpose now. The mini PCs are better in every way. 

kepford

A sub 1L "mini, tiny, micro" pc (mini = HP naming, tiny = Lenovo, micro = Dell) are much much better options than a RPI.

Remember these desktops are "business class" desktops that include all the BIOS bells and whistles. Secure boot, backup BIOS images, Block USB drives, etc.

You can routinely find something like an HP Micro 800 G3 for sub-$125. There is 

 to buy a weak, underpowered, hard-to-manage RPI for these use cases.

What are the Raspberry PI alternatives for a DIY bitcoin node?

mateusdeap

This x 100. 

A sub 1L "mini, tiny, micro" pc (mini = HP naming, tiny = Lenovo, micro = Dell) are much much better options than a RPI. 

Remember these desktops are "business class" desktops that include all the BIOS bells and whistles. Secure boot, backup BIOS images, Block USB drives, etc. 

You can routinely find something like an HP Micro 800 G3 for sub-$125. There is *no reason* to buy a weak, underpowered, hard-to-manage RPI for these use cases. 