[unarose]

As far as PCs go, I've had a Dell and a HP…the HP was better than the Dell. Gateway's not bad. Acer is, from what I've heard, excellent.

I can't imagine life without my MacBook Pro now, though—and you can get one for under your budget…I'd see if your local Best Buy carries them (some do, some don't) or if you have an Apple store local, that's probably a good place to look.

The internet is also a good resource…Computer Shopper could help, they do reviews for many different brands as well as of software and accessories, and have guides for buying a new computer.