🛒 GuardDex Node — Shopping List
Everything you need to build one home-protection box. Tick things off as you buy them — your checkmarks & notes are saved on this device automatically.
1 · The box (pick ONE)
This is the little computer that runs GuardDex 24/7 to protect every device on your home internet.
You only need one box. The cheap thin clients below are plenty for that — they're small, silent,
and barely use any power. Used is totally fine; search the model name on eBay.
Prices shown are live eBay "sold" medians (real recent sale prices, captured 2026-06-29). They drift
over time, so treat them as a ballpark — and don't overpay.
✅ Recommended — simple protection boxes (the right choice for almost everyone)
What we use. Tiny, silent, fanless, sips power — plenty for protecting the house. Small built-in storage, so it needs a USB stick (Step 2).
Newer cousin of the t430, a little quicker. Fanless and low-power. Also wants a USB stick for storage.
Faster (AMD), handles more at once, still small & quiet. Nice if you want some headroom. Add a USB stick for storage.
4-core Intel in a roomier case with an expansion slot. Very capable for the money. Add a USB stick (or an internal drive if you're comfortable opening it).
🔧 Want it to do more? — power options (overkill for just protection)
These are tiny but full PCs with their own built-in SSD, so they don't need a USB stick.
They're more than a protection box needs — only worth the extra money if you want one box to also run
a home firewall/router (pfSense/OPNsense), the DNS fortress, or several jobs at once (Proxmox).
If you just want protection, pick a thin client above and save the cash.
Powerful thin client (4-core / 8-thread AMD). Can comfortably run heavier extras.
1-liter mini PC, 8th-gen Intel — a homelab favorite. Takes a real internal SSD and lots of memory.
Like the M720q, a notch faster (9th-gen). Excellent little do-everything box.
Same tiny-but-mighty class as the Lenovos (8th-gen Intel). Internal SSD + room for memory.
Newer (9th-gen) EliteDesk Mini — a bit more punch.
Dell's 1-liter micro (8th-gen Intel). Same homelab-favorite class as the others.
Newer (9th-gen) OptiPlex Micro — top of this group.
2 · The storage stick (pick ONE)
Skip this step if you chose a "power option" box above (the mini-PCs) — those have their own
built-in storage. The thin clients (t430 / t540 / t640 / Wyse) need one of these sticks.
Why this matters: the box writes tiny bits of data to this stick all day, every day. Cheap no-name
sticks get hot and "stutter" (speed up, stall, speed up, stall) because they're plastic and use cheap parts.
A good stick has a metal body (stays cool, no stutter) and a trusted brand.
Which plug? USB-A (the flat rectangular plug) fits every box — the safe choice if unsure.
Some newer boxes also have USB-C (the small oval plug); a USB-C stick is just as good there.
When in doubt, grab USB-A.
🛑 Always buy the stick NEW. A used USB stick can carry malware from the last owner — the exact
thing we're trying to keep out of the house — and flash wears out with age. For ~$20, never buy a used one.
(Used computers are fine — they get wiped and reinstalled fresh.)
😬
True story: a no-name 512 GB drive from an
Amazon "returns / warehouse" reseller didn't just
die — it
lied about its real size, scrambled the files on it, and
spread the corruption to other drives
it was copied to. So "from Amazon" isn't a safe-word.
Buy from the real brand or a trusted store's own stock. Skip "warehouse/returns" deals, random third-party
marketplace sellers, and anything labeled "renewed."
If the price is too good for the size, the size is fake.
😬 Read the full horror story →
Metal body = runs cool, no stutter. Much faster at the little writes the box does. Water- & shock-resistant. Get the USB-A (64 GB) version — works on every box.
Tiniest one, proven, sold everywhere (USB-A). It's what the current main box runs.
⚠ Plastic — heats up and slows under heavy use. Fine, just not the best.
Tiny, USB-A, good value — a solid pick if the others are out of stock.
Fast, nice drive — a great pick if your box has a USB-C (oval) port.
⚠ Only choose this if you've confirmed the box has USB-C. Otherwise go USB-A.
🔧 Storage upgrade — internal M.2 SSD — optional, needs opening the case
An internal M.2 SSD is the bulletproof alternative to a USB stick — proper cooling, far longer life,
and it never hits the thermal "stutter" wall. It fits boxes with an M.2 slot (the mini-PCs above, plus the
t640 / t740 / Wyse 5070). Fitting one means opening the case, so this is a job for whoever sets
the box up — not a must for everyday users. Buy NEW (never a used SSD — they wear out); 250–500 GB
is plenty.
⚠️ Heads-up — SSD prices spiked in 2026 (chip shortage + tariffs): a 500 GB drive that was ~$35
a year ago now runs ~$90–125. So right now the $20 USB stick above is the better value for a
simple protection box — only go M.2 if you want the extra reliability or you picked a power box.
Cheapest reliable option. More than enough speed and space for a node.
Great all-rounder from a trusted brand — the sweet spot of price, speed, and reliability.
Top-tier endurance and a long warranty. Overkill for a node, but it'll outlast everything.
Older boxes / cheaper route: if a box only takes M.2 SATA (not NVMe), a Kingston A400 M.2 240 GB
(~$45) works fine. Either way, an M.2 drive replaces the USB stick — you don't need both.