I like XP. so far I am haing no problems with it.
I don't like Gateway, personal choice though.
I agree with Sleep, 1 gig is plenty, and costs a lot less.
Why not buy the parts and build yourself? I bought a case, motherboard and 1 gig processoer for les than 300 dollars. It is an Athlon, not a pentium, but I love it. Memory is cheap nowadays too.
Have you tried going to TigerDirect? They have great deals, and you should be able to put a system together for less than what you are talking about.
By the way, on board sound is awful in my opinion.
