Well, if he can stretch an extra $200, then the Gateway is fine as well. Both should work fine, but like I said, the Dell comes with a lot of stuff for the same price.
But it is his money, so he should get what he truly wants, almost regardless of what I say.
Edit: Oh hey, I see that he specifically wants to burn. The Dell has a limited time offer for a free burner. I considered that earlier, but since you specified, I just wanted to point that out explicitly.