By the way, I checked the Gateway FX8020. And frankly, you can do a LOT better for the same money.

Here's the system I configured:

Intel Q6600 CPU (same as the Gateway)
2x2 GB DDR2-667 (twice as much as the Gateway)
MSI P35 Platinum mainboard (a more modern chipset than the 975X of the Gateway, with IEEE1394, 8.1 sound, SPDIF, Gbit LAN, the whole kaboodle)
ATI Radeon X1950 Pro /512 MB (same as the Gateway)
DVD Dual Layer +/- RW unit (same as the Gateway)
500 GB SATA II hard disk (same as the Gateway)
Antec Performance P180B case (silent, elegant and lots of room. You can mount 6 harddisks, 4 5.25" units, plus a floppy drive)
Zalman ZM-600 HP PSU: silent, more than enough power (600W).
Floppy drive
Card reader
Keyboard + mouse.
Windows XP Pro 64 bit

In the Netherlands, it would cost less than € 1500 including assembly, VAT and shipping. The VAT rate in the Netherlands is 19%, so this system should cost significantly less in the US.

What you get instead of the Gateway:

• a more powerful machine (4 GB RAM expandable to 8 GB, instead of 2 GB expandable to 4 GB)
• a much better system case, more silent and much more room for addons
• a better PSU.
• and for less money.

You can also opt to leave out a card reader, a modem, depending on what you need.

The pen is mightier than the sword. But if you literally want to have some impact, use a typewriter

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