That is a little low on the memory side of things, but should chug along. MMMM
Go and DL the Xubunu, rip it, and see if runs live. After Xubuntu installs, you
can install Gnome very easy on the system with out installing through the CD.
Believe it or not it is a very simple command. The other way is to intall the
Alternative version of Ubuntu. Then install gnome desktop after.