I think it is a divisive question.
There are some people that say rather use an old refurbished pc, because RPi has not stable enough power.
On the other hand, there are people who use their RPi without problems as a Node.
Discussion
hm, I'll have to look more into this
didn't want to spend that much money, wanted to build with stuff that I have laying around
They say, an old laptop or pc you have could also be good. Or buy a refurbished pc from a company. They are usually really cheap compared to their specs.
I am also looking for cheap options for myself.