I have an AMD Athlon XP 1900+ [1.21GHz] with WinXP Home, 512MB RAM; it works fine and I don't need to restart for days, even after using heavy programs like Adobe Photoshop 7; several messengers; Music; Movies; Downloads; Everything under the sun.
It treats me well, I give it hell. Great relationship I have with my PC
And erm, back on topic, Chris, your only option is to buy your computer flowers and hope she understands