What PC brand do you recommend?

nothing dell, hp is good if you remove everything and know what your doing dule booting a mac is good to I did that once and I dule boot my HP with Linux you should really try making your own

Me, personally (as someone who works with a wide range of computers for a job), the best (as in less prone to problems, and value for money) are:

Sony, Apple (the Mac is essentially a PC these days), Acer, ASUS, and HP if you remove all the slow built-in software it comes with.

I do not recommend Dell.

Rnealw - sure do, every time they come in for fixing. The Dell’s would come in once every 4 weeks with some problem too, before they killed themselves or we got rid of the ones that might kill someone. A Dell in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing and understands fully what they are ordering would be fine - however most consumer’s don’t, and get duped for the most part.

Rnealw - PC software won’t run under OS X, but it will under Windows which you can run as the default OS on a Mac if you wish. And I am really not a fan of Dell’s - too many people I have known have got them, and then found them so troublesome a couple of years down the track. Plus I’ve had Dell computers electrocute a staff member; 2 of them suddenly eject dust in a big cloud from the case and die; and one blow up in my face. Needless to say there are no Dells in my workplace anymore. They rank right up there with Emachines in my opinion, cutting corners, not providing for decent future expansion and using end-of-line componentry. But that is my opinion.

Danbob. . . Don’t ya’ll open the case and blow them out ever? Most home PC’s and business PC’s I see Need to be blown out either with Canned air or a compressor. It would solve that dust cloud problem real quick. Never had any major problems with a dell. . . Good machine with a good price. Now the Emachine on the other hand is an over priced door stop.

Acer, HP and dell. . . Personally I use and acer and a dell. Stay far away for Emachines ( they are Evil) And If you choose a dell order it direct from the company. If you choose a mac remember that software is limited and PC software is not compatable plus it’s not a budget machine.

That’s why I tell them to order them direct from dell and not at Walmart. . . I also Suggest Sony but it’s a little $$$ for a lot of blue collar workers and I’m happy to assist the user if needed.

Also when we talk brand it helps to know what you are planning to do. . . Some brands are better in Different areas.