The best budget option for a Bitcoin Node: HP T640 Thin client

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In my previous post I went over the HP Chromebox G2 and mentioned that it was not a great candidate for a Bitcoin node due to the CPU being slow. After the G2 did not work out, I went on Ebay and looked for other budget options. I came across the HP T640 Thin Client, I was able to pick it up for $35 including shipping. I got really lucky as it seems most systems go for around $50, and not all of them come with the USB-C PD power option.

The HP T640 Thin Client has a Ryzen R1505G CPU, which is a dual core with 4 threads and a base clock of 2.4GHz. You can read a lot more info at ParkyTowers. Shoutout to the person behind that site, it has a lot of great info on thin clients.

I was able to install Umbrel on the T640 without any issues. The Ryzen CPU is a huge step up from the Intel Celeron in the Chromebox G2. Another benefit is the T640 is fanless so it’s completely silent.

If you are looking for a budget option for a Bitcoin node, skip the Raspberry Pi and go for the HP T640 Thin Client.