My PC just broke I guess because of a virus. The PC won't boot due to System Configuration being corrupted.

I had a recent Consumer Reports quarterly and I think that It ranked the best as a MAC and second was Sony. Would you agree and if you have a copy of CR to the date then please tell me which is best, especially in stability because that's what's really bugging me.

I'll spend about $1100.

All PC's are equally stable - it's the user that makes them unstable. Bad internet practices will kill any machine, even a mac. macs are less vulnerable to viruses and such, too, just not as many - the platform isn't as popular, fewer people make malicious software for them. IMO, sony's are some of the worst PC's on the market, loaded with bad parts, poorly configured software, poorly designed units, albiet stylish. Style isn't everything.

I repair PC's, and very, very few of them break because of viruses. more of them have problems with adware than viruses, but people just don't know the difference.

All in all, if you're smart with your computer, you'll find it serving you well for years to come. Would you do neutral drops on your car at every green light? No. Don't do the same thing to your computer - you've got to learn to use it properly.

I agree with frozenlead, the problem is more likely to be yours than of your computers. Anyway, as usually it's easier to change the computer than the user, I think you are going to have less problems with a Mac.

Or Linux, I believe Ubuntu was even more tamper proof than OSX Leopard, at least in terms of straight hacking . Either way, third on the advice to stay away from Sony Vaios, they're made of cheap crap even if they look decent. Asus is a good brand, and they're great in terms of customer service, so maybe look into them a bit?

While ubuntu is great, the kind of user who is good in ubuntu is also the kind of user who does not tend to get viruses in Windows in the first place. From my experience, it takes some tinkering to get working the way you like it in the first place, but it is definitely a great OS once you get everything tweaked.