Now just to add to what Jeremy has stated in my experience. Not that I want to bash windows or anything. Even though it is good to take a swing at Gates every now and then even though most hosts will charge for kernel updates linux is still the way to go for a production environement for the internet in my humble opinion. There are usually easier to set up for the user with less downtime and proven reliability. I have seen in my time alot of configuration issues with windows servers. Alot of windows hosts do not allow file permission changes etc. Linux is alot more user friendly in setting things up. If I were you I would opt for the linux machine for a few more each month.