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[asiago]

This is a steel mechanism.  All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality.  It is decorated with aluminum, and menaces with spikes of copper.

I love Dwarf Fortress.  I play all the time.  I don't use any of the helper programs like dwarf therapist or anything like that, it's just me and the game.  So, I decided to build a computer dedicated to DF, and I call it the 'dorfputer'.   I give some pretty nerdy details below, which you can ignore if you're so inclined but I really wanted to share.

Even though it's not much to look at, here's a photo:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

So, on the hardware side of things, it's got a dual-core 3.0GHz AM3, and some 1800MHz CAS 9 RAM in it.  Motherboard outputs HDMI.  I haven't really tweaked or fine-tuned the system for optimal performance, cause I haven't really needed to yet.

I built this on Arch Linux.  There's no window manager at all.  You press the power button, and it boots directly into Dwarf Fortress.  Quit the game and it returns to a login prompt where you can log in (as Urist McNerdy) to update the game, shutdown, or whatnot.  Since there's no window manager, you can't alt-tab out of the game, and you can't drop into a shell.  Sound is output over the HDMI to the speakers built into the monitor.  It's not connected to the network, I've even disabled networking by default.  Dwarf Fortress has one entire CPU dedicated to it (through the use of 'taskset'), and I've tweaked the system to use as few other resources as possible.  As you can see, I use Phoebus's pack, but I've set it up where I can play with the default ascii interface, or another tileset/graphics pack, should I choose (by uncommenting lines in my .xinitrc file).

I designed it around the idea that when I really wanna get into the game, I can without interruptions or external influences.  If I want to, I can pull up the laptop next to it.  I DO listen to toady's music in the game while I play, quite often, but the real reason why I wanted to enable sound was to allow me to install soundsense in the future, should I choose.  As far as decorations, there are some red LEDs inside the case which light up the CPU cooler rather nicely in the dark, and I've considered painting the case with some of that textured paint that's supposed to look like rock.  I'm also planning to paint the big dwarf face icon on the other side of it (because eventually this will stand on it's side next to the monitor).

Anyways, there it is, my artifact.

Questions and comments welcome.

[Mullet Master]

Hey, I like the concept, and your devotion to Dwarf fortress is admirable!

As far as the CPU cooler sticking out, I think that's a pretty cool idea that I've mulled doing several times. Glad to see I'm not the only one that feels that way.
What kind of cooler is it?

[alfie275]

Now just hook it up to a waterwheel or  windmill assembly

[asiago]

Now just hook it up to a waterwheel or  windmill assembly

I was thinking of that but sadly no slaves migrants showed up for like 3 years so I gave up and went to plan B.

Hey, I like the concept, and your devotion to Dwarf fortress is admirable!

As far as the CPU cooler sticking out, I think that's a pretty cool idea that I've mulled doing several times. Glad to see I'm not the only one that feels that way.
What kind of cooler is it?

It's a Cooler Master, one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099  It keeps the CPU pretty cool and doesn't make too much noise.  The hardest part was cutting a hole in the side panel, I used a nibbler from Harbor Freight (and got a blister).  That single fan provides enough airflow for the entire case, too!  Added bonus!

[FearfulJesuit]

What's your FPS like? (Doesn't the community have some fortresses that people use to test their benchmark FPS?)

That said, it looks awesome.

[asiago]

What's your FPS like? (Doesn't the community have some fortresses that people use to test their benchmark FPS?)

That said, it looks awesome.

I think the Phoebus pack comes with the max fps pre-set to 100, and I've never changed that (yet).  It almost always hovers right around 100, even with the mist of a giant waterfall.