Branwen, I am sure you are very knowledgeable, and I considered a Gateway seriously. But in the end I went with Dell. You are wrong about the soundcard. Mine has a "Soundblaster Live! Value Digital with MusicMatch Jukebox Enhanced Version". I would agree that Gateway sells an excellent product and they ran a close second with me. But your point about the cost is what swayed me. For the same quality and better support, the better cost to design what I wanted was Dell. Now admittedly this is a high end machine that is designed for sound reproduction, but the same thing at Gateway was more expensive. Price on this machine was secondary to getting what I wanted, but if all other things in your mind are equal you get a slight break from Dell. And in my opinion, the after sale service is better from Dell.

Jed, I am thrilled with the hardware, software and customer support on my Dell. I just purchased it and they have been wonderful in assisting me to get my data transferred, software loaded, etc. The quality of the equipment is well known and the reputation is deserved. The tech support is beyond reproach. I am very pleased with it. I would give Dell the highest possible recommendation.

All the best,

Mick