How much Memory?

Yes, this compuer can run Vista. However, if you are a gamer, it will be slow. Also, I have a very similar computer and I chose to reinsall Vista with a clean installation. All the junk that Gateway puts in the startup really bogs the computer down. You can opt to just remove these programs for startup, but a clean installation will run better. Also, if you chose to do a clean install, you will need to go to the Gateway Website and upgrade any your drivers.

I have a recently purchased Dell E521 that I got with 2G RAM. Normal non-gaming operation shows I am utilizing about 50% of the RAM. This is net surfing, and some Excel and Word use. So, while 1024 Mb might do, I think that it wouldn't leave any reserve RAM capability for more memory-intensive activities. You probably don't need 4G, but 1G likely isn't enough. Bill

Ive got a dell xps with Dual Core 2.1 Ghz CPU, 256 MB video card, and 2GB of 667 Mhz DDR2 RAM. Fancy acronyms aside, Vista does seem to use about 40% of that RAM in normal mode, maybe with messenger open and McAffee also. I have not had any trouble of running out of RAM yet, running Half Life two at near highest settings with an excellent frame rate. Word 2007 does not push the computer over the edge either. So, I would bet that if you set your computer to use a little more page file, and all you need the computer for is run of the mill office use, 1 GB might be ok. I would suggest 2 GB, simply because I have had excellent results with it. But don't take me too seriously