TusLAN PC Specifications

The hosts and sponsors provide a number of PCs for use by non-BYOC participants at TusLAN. Here are the specs on these open gaming computers at TusLAN.  Many of them are named after fictional characters, and short bios are provided for those.

PCs provided by Mongo:

Balin is an HP xw8400 workstation.
CPU: 2 Intel Xeon 5150 dual-core at 2.67GHz
GPU: nvidia GTX-460 PCIe
RAM: 8 GB
OS: MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Balin was one of the twelve companions of Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor. He was the son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin. Many years after the death of Smaug, Balin led an expedition to recolonise Khazad-dûm, where he found Durin's Axe. Although the colony began well, Balin was slain after only a few years, shot by Orcs on November 5, 2994, as he looked into Kheled-zâram. Thirty years later his tomb and the Book of Mazarbul that told of his expedition and death were discovered by the Fellowship of the Ring.
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Dwalin is an HP dc7600 convertible desktop/tower.
CPU: Intel Pentium 4
GPU: nvidia GeForce FX8600 PCIe
RAM: 4GB DDR2-800 PC2-6400
OS: MS Windows XP Professional 32-bit

Dwalin was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor. The son of Fundin and younger brother of Balin, Dwalin was the first Dwarf to arrive at Bag End. He wore a dark green hood and a golden belt, had a blue beard, and like his brother Balin, he played the viol. Dwalin lent a hood and cloak to Bilbo when they set out on their journey. After the events in The Hobbit, Dwalin ruled Thorin's halls in the Blue Mountains. He died in the year 91 of the Fourth Age at the age of 340, very old even for a Dwarf.
His name is taken from Dvalin, a dwarf from the Poetic Edda and other Norse mythology.
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Fíli is an HP Compaq EVO D510 convertible desktop/tower.
CPU: Pentium 2.5GHz
GPU: nvidia GeForce FX7800 AGP
RAM: 1GB
OS: MS Windows XP Professional 32-bit

Fíli was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor. He and his brother Kíli were the sons of Dís, Thorin's sister. He had a blue cloak, a yellow beard and a long nose, the longest of all the Dwarves on the Quest. The two brothers were described as being young in Dwarf terms, younger than the rest by some fifty years. They also had the best eyesight and so were often sent scouting or searching. The brothers are consistently described as having been cheerful, the only two to have come out of the barrels at Lake-town "more or less smiling." After the battle with the spiders he is forced to cut off most of his beard due to it being covered in webbing.

Although Chapter 8 of The Hobbit describes Fíli as the youngest, in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings his birthyear is given as T.A. 2859, whereas Kíli's is 2864. Both brothers fell at the Battle of Five Armies, defending their uncle Thorin, and were buried with honour.
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Gimli is an ASUS Crosshair motherboard in an Antec Sonota case.
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 dual-core at 2.8GHz
GPU: nvidia GeForce FX8800 GTX PCIe
RAM: 8 GB
OS: MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Gimli, the son of Glóin, was chosen by Elrond to be one of the nine members of the Company of the Ring. He remained with Aragorn throughout the War of the Ring, fighting at the Hornburg, Pelargir and Pelennor Fields. His friendship with Legolas and love for Galadriel earned him the title of Elf-friend.

Glóin, son of Gróin

Glóin, son of Gróin, was one of the twelve companions of Thorin II Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor. He was a descendant of Durin the Deathless, and brother of Óin. Glóin and his son Gimli were sent to Rivendell as an embassy from Dáin II to bring news of Erebor, Moria, and what they knew of Sauron's plans; they arrived in time to attend the Council of Elrond. The name Gloin is found in the Voluspa. He is set to be played by Peter Hambleton in Peter Jackson's live-action, cinema production of The Hobbit. He was a playable hero in the Dwarven Faction in the Electronic Arts Real-Time Strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, and specialized in attacks that would either destroy or disable the opponents' buildings.
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Kíli is an HP D530C convertible desktop/tower.
CPU: Pentium 3.0GHz
GPU: nvidia GeForce FX7800 AGP
RAM: 1GB
OS: MS Windows XP Home 32-bit

Kíli was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor. He and his brother Fíli were the sons of Dís, Thorin's sister. He had a blue cloak and a yellow beard. The two brothers were described as being young in Dwarf terms, younger than the rest by some fifty years. They also had the best eyesight and so were often sent scouting or searching. The brothers are consistently described as having been cheerful, and the only two to have come out of the barrels at Lake-town "more or less smiling."

Although Fíli is described as being the youngest in Chapter 8 of The Hobbit, in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings his birthyear is given as T.A. 2859, whereas Kíli's is 2864. Both brothers fell at the Battle of Five Armies, defending their uncle Thorin, and were buried with honour.
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Mongo PC is an ASUS A7N8X motherboard in a white tower case.
CPU: AMD Athlon at 1.8GHz
GPU: nvidia GeForce FX7950 AGP
RAM: 1GB
OS: MS Windows XP Professional 32-bit

From the 1974 movie, Blazing Saddles, Mongo (played by Alex Karras) is an immensely strong, slow-thinking (but surprisingly philosophical) henchman who terrorizes Rock Ridge. He’s eventually sent by Taggart to kill Sheriff Bart. "Mongo only pawn... in game of life."