I've been using Pro Tools on Windows since I started out using it (I'm kind of a black sheep
), and though I managed to get a very stable system on 98SE (I self built a custom PC with selected parts tested in compatibility on the DUC forum) now I'm on XP and I never get a single crash, I almost forget the machine I'm running PT LE on and just interface with it; yes, at the moment plug-ins availability isn't the same as with Macs, but it's growing fast, and if one cannot have work done with all of the currently available plugs, maybe he/she should start searching for the problem somwhere else, not on the XP platform...
Performance is top notch for a system like the one I use, I can get 32 tracks (still using 5.3.1, will switch to 6 in the next months) with a healty dose (25/30 instances) of plug ins (Waves, Bomb Factory, Focusrite, Blue Tubes, etc..) and sevarl aux sends, everything out of a single ATA 100 7200RPM drive, and the system is stable as a rock.
I think now there's no such argument about which platform anymore, just get the app you like to use and go on the platform that supports it, Win XP is definitively valid and reliable.
Cheers
L.G.