| Vista is, indeed, a resource hog. With that said, resource hogging is only an issue if you're running on limited memory. Look at the system specs and determine it that way. Most importantly, while Vista needs 1GB of RAM (and this is exactly how much some manufacturers will install), as a tech I believe you should have 2GB minimum, more if your system will take it. The main reason to move on from XP is simply the inevitable lack of support around the corner. With Windows 7 coming out soon, XP will be two generations back. If you already have a copy of Vista, and you have enough system memory that its RAM-hunger can be sated with some to spare, then go with that. Then the step to Windows 7 (should your girlfriend want to take that step down the road) won't be all that steep. Windows 7 is much closer to Vista than XP in functionality, although its memory requirements are less. My two cents. | 
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