So the day after my post, Alienware added an nVidia 9800GT2 SLI option. So I decided to go for it, even though the SSDs were not available. I did go read a lot of reviews on SSDs and they are still a little mixed. I mostly cared about speed and silence. I got the Alienware Acoustic Dampening ($99) and am hopeful that it will deliver on the silence side. As far as speed, most of the reviews I’ve read indicate the SSDs are great for boot-up but don’t offer a super-meaningful speed increase in general performance. Since this is a desktop and will be on most of the time, boot-up speed isn’t of primary importance.

— I welcome any posts on SSD performance from anyone that may read this.

Also, I’m happy to note that after a bit of escalation I found out that upgrading your video card does not invalidate your warranty. Obviously the new card (unless you bought it from Alienware) isn’t covered by the warranty, but the basic warranty is still valid. That’s good news.

My new Alienware is now in Phase 6 – “Integration” and I hope it will ship soon. I’ll be posting a review as soon as I get it.

I’m excited to see what Quad-SLI is like. Not to mention the cool Alienware case.

I can’t tell you how much I want to buy an Alienware. Their cases look amazing, they have acoustic dampening (which may or may not be a scam like undercoating, but I want quiet), and they are usually on the cutting edge.

I’ve been planning to buy a really high-end desktop for quite some time now. I cannot figure out why Alienware doesn’t have a reasoanble configuration. So I asked them about adding another video card (for SLI) to an Alienware ALX (which supports SLI, but they don’t offer the new nVidia 9800gt2 or 9800gtx cards in an SLI configuration). I figured I’d just buy a second card (but it needs to match) and pop it in. This would also require an SLI bridge which normally comes with the motherboard, but I don’t know if they ship it. So this is the answer I got:

John L.: Hi, my name is John L.. How may I help you?
andrew busey: i want to buy a new alienware, but i want 9800gtx or 9800gt2 in SLI – can I add my own to the new A-51?
andrew busey: and if so will the SLI bridge ship with the computer and which 9800gt2 card do you guys use so I can get another one
andrew busey: or will you be offering it soon
John L.: As to whether we will offer it soon, I am unable to say as that information is not given ahead of time. Also adding it yourself would void the warranty.
andrew busey: adding a video card voids my warranty?
andrew busey: does that mean upgrading my video card voids my warranty?
John L.: Yes adding it on by yourself would. If you wish to upgrade it you would need to contact our tech support department for them to do it.

These guys are selling to the high-end, enthusiast market. This audience upgrades stuff in their PCs frequently. I’m pretty sure most of them don’t know it voids their warranty. If they did they probably wouldn’t buy Alienwares. Personally I’m guessing the CSR was just clueless, but I’m going to call and find out.

In the meantime, Alienware:

• Please add an 9800gtx or 9800gt2 SLI option!
• Please add an SSD option on the ALX. You have it on the ALX Crossfire – but frankly I’m not fond of ATI.

They also couldn’t answer questions about overclocking either. Very disappointing. Oh well.

Anyone that wants to recommend high-end PC makers that make quiet, very fast computers please post in the comments. Some of the guys I’ve looked at use these really obnoxious or cheesy cases, which sucks… but I’m running out of choices and I don’t really want to build it myself.

One last plea to Alienware: I want to give you guys my money. A lot of it. Please offer cutting edge configurations.

/rant

UPDATE: Please also read Alienware Redux.

This is a really good article on capital gains from the WSJ:

Obama’s Capital Loss

The fact that it is in response to an Obama position – that raising capital gains to 20-25% is ok – is not what makes this article interesting. It actually has some pretty interesting stats that show increases in capital gains materially decrease tax income because the higher tax changes peoples behaviors.

Another brilliant example of our government at work: Banks: Planned Net-gambling curb could disrupt e-commerce

My favorites:

The 2006 law forces banks and other financial intermediaries to police money flows that could be related to Internet gambling. It never received a formal up or down vote in the entire Congress; instead, Republican congressional leaders simply glued it on to an unrelated port security bill that was approved nearly unanimously.

Got to love the largely libertarian Ron Paul. I wish more of our politicians thought about things this way:

Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-minded Republican candidate for president, said that could lead to more Internet regulation: “Though I do not endorse gambling per se, people should make their own decisions. It’s a personal choice. I’ve always been concerned about this type of regulation and legislation–it’s likely to open the door (to control and regulation) of the Internet itself.”

And, the one issue I agree with Barney Frank on:

Rep. Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the full House Financial Services Committee, used the chance to talk up his bill that would effectively legalize–but closely regulate, including with criminal background checks and financial disclosure–the online gambling industry.

Why can’t we have a govenment that acknowledges personal responsibility?