Octopus Overlords

Hey all, I see that BB has a Gateway computer in their Black Friday ad for $979.97. The specs are really good: P4 3 Ghz, 1GB DDR RAM and a 160 GB HD. It even comes with a printer and 17" LCD.

Specs-wise, I know that's a good comp. My question is, is Gateway a reputable company? Is their stuff any good? I've been building my own computer for years now, so I don't go and buy the name brands. Can anyone comment on how well built their computers are?

Edit: This is for a Xmas gift for a non-gamer, so it doesn't need to be a gaming rig.

Gateway was the biggest computer company for a while I think, though Dell may have caught up to them in quality lately. Don't take my word for it though, I prefer to build my own now. Before this current system I have though I had a Gateway and it ran fine for me without a hitch.

Edit - By the way, Best Buy is running a 'sale' where a 160 gig Western Digital HD is $30 after $90 in mail-in rebates.

My brother is thinking about going tomorrow to CompUSA and picking up the emachines desktop they have on sale. AMD 3000+, 528 meg RAM, 160 Gig HD, and 16X dual layer +- DVD burner for only $499 (you can add a monitor and printer for $99). Does anyone have experience with emachines? Are they easily upgradable (he would want to add a video card)?