I second that notion. Do they even offer XP anymore now that Windows 7 has come out? I know most Netbooks come with 7 loaded now...
But as for Dells, I've worked on many and their desktops in particular are extremely cheap. Build the computer yourself and you'll end up with a much better machine than anything you could purchase from Dell.
(oooh, and John, seems I'll be fairly close to you in a few days
)