Quote from: justworks on May 05, 2014, 09:03:30 AM

What about an old laptop, 2GB RAM, 1.6 Ghz Atom processor? Is that over the top or would it barely handle it? I don't want to run a node that would just slow the network down and do more harm then good...

That would be much better than the RPi.

Quote from: justworks on May 05, 2014, 09:03:30 AM

We are talking about a Raspberry Pi and the ODROID-U3 now, the second one has a quad core. So what is the reasonable CPU to handle the node, is the Atom good enough?

ODROID would suit the task best of all IMO. Very low power usage (probably much lower than your Atom laptop) and multi-core too. Drawbacks are that hardkernel.com don't take bitcoin still, and the EMMC cards might be as flaky as SD cards when used in long term always-on deployment.

hardkernel.com are missing a trick, bitcoin node would be an ideal use for their hardware, and South Korea (where their company is based) has growing awareness of cryptocurrencies, yet they still accept only wire transfers and PayPal. Maybe there's a reseller where you could pay with something more civilised.