Running Bitcoin Core on Mini PCs with Tor

Setting up a small PC with basic Linux isn’t too tricky. Just grab a cheap mini PC like an Optiplex and a 2TB external SSD. All for around 250-300 bucks.

Optiplexes aren’t the tiniest but are definitely compact. You think there’s no way to squeeze in another internal SSD, even through SATA? External drives can be slow for the datadir.

Make sure to tweak Bitcoin Core for more RAM. Gonna speed up your initial sync. Honestly, I’m more worried about sudden disconnects than I/O speed with USB.

I’ve got a couple of Dell Optiplex machines running. One’s for Umbrel, the other’s a Wireguard server. They’ve got slots for both NVMe and SATA drives. Internal options are definitely the way to go.

I’m running Bitcoin over Tor too. Had an Electrs server, but it ditched my Electrum wallets and space was tight, so I axed it. No prune mode for me, I want that full node.

That bind option is outdated, the newer version requires ‘=onion’ to work like before. Check out the Bitcoin docs on setting up Tor. If you plan on 24/7 use, consider power consumption too.

USB storage? Not a fan. They’re usually slower and less reliable than internal drives. With Bitcoin Core on Tor, no need for port forwarding. My nodes have no issues with incoming connections via Tor.

Why not just use a laptop? Easier to travel with. I looked up the Optiplex and it seems bulky. The Raspberry router was too slow for me too, syncing took forever. A spare laptop for keys sounds ideal.

You wasted your time talking to that spammer. He dropped a spam link in the quoted post. What’s the scenario where you need physical access to your device?

True, but that Optiplex still needs a monitor. Sure, it’s on the smaller side, but you still need a screen. A 14-inch laptop can do the same and is portable.

You’re mostly right, but you can actually set up the OS on an Optiplex without a monitor using the ‘preseed’ method. After setup, just SSH or VNC into it from another device.