If you are comfortable shopping at Best Buy then go there, they have not gone out of business through bad customer relations so they must do some stuff right.

For graphics editing you need to pay attention to the video card, memory(RAM), monitor and mouse for starters.

If you go with a PC you need to Google the compatibility of your version of PhotoShop with Windows 7. If it fails there are numerous simpleton to very advanced graphics editing programs out there for free. Gimp and PhotoFiltre are 2 of the more advanced programs.

It's true that Macs are supposed to be great for graphic tasks, but, if you are seriously considering one, you should see if you can borrow one from a friend for a couple of days to see how you like it. I was recently in the market for a new PC and my grown children encouraged me to get a Mac instead of another PC as they are big Mac fans. However, having spent 20 years on PCs and having learned to do (and fix and troubleshoot) a lot of things on PCs, I was not sure I wanted to learn a different set of commands, develop a new knowledge base, and give up some things (like right-click capabilities with a mouse). I'm not trying to discourage you from a Mac since in some ways they are a machine that is less likely to be buggy than a PC, but also be aware that you are not just getting a different brand of hardware.

If you plan to use this to make a living with graphics, your agent is right. You are specifying a monitor size, so for Macs, that would be the iMac, which is great, but not portable. If it were me, I'd find some way to bridge the price gap between $1000 and a decent Mac. There is also a refurbished Mac area on apple's website, and I have a collegue who has ordered several units that way that have all been fine.

If you aren't going to make a living from the unit, you can get pretty powerful PCs for under $1000. I'd cruise the web looking for repair records, 3rd party ratings, opinions, that sort of thing. I know we bought my son a Compaq which had trouble with the wireless networking. We repaired it once under warranty (motherboard replacement) and then it happened again. Since the repair cost exceeded the value of the unit, we went with a new HP. The screen came in DOA. We got a refund and bought a Mac. No more HP laptop products in our house from now on (printers are good, though).

As far as where to buy, Best Buy is fine. I tend to get most of my stuff from newegg.

Thank you so much for your help.
I had an issue today with a work related job and loading to an ftp site. I couldn't do it so I had a friend load the art for me, on her mac, in 5 seconds.
I do think it will be a Mac but that is making me feel anxious about learning a whole new way of doing things, they don't sell those at Best Buy do they ?
I don't want anything portable and I do need to continue to work in Photoshop and will add illustrator but the biggest drawback right now is dh who is anti mac, probably because of the price.
I did look at the Apple parallels program, which is promising.

Sofaspud brought up something I had overlooked. If this is for business you do get a 30% write off annually for computers. Be sure if you buy additional things to make a separate purchase so those items can be written off completely in the year of purchase if they are below the threshold.

Can't you wipe a damp cloth over the current PVC and give it to DH?

Years ago I wouldn't buy at Best Buy, but I have no choice in our city unless I want to order and I am not going to do that. BB treated me well and offered to trade PCs if I didn't like the 64 that came on it. I have always bought computers off the shelf and loved everyone of them except one had ME on it and didn't like that at all. Wasn't the PCs fault. I like the bells and whistles that come on store computers. I do go through and remove a lot of things, games but not the standard games like Free Cell and Spider Solitaire. I get rid of trial versions, all servers listed, etc.. My last HP cost $600. at BB and some odd dollars and it's faster and better than my last PC.

Best Buy sells Macs, at least the ones in my area do.

Now I am really confused. I cannot find out why a mac would be truly better. I would still use photoshop either way and if a pc is almost half the cost?

My agents are not artists, and are caught up in the "all artists use macs" for whatever reason.
It seems like a fast, new pc would do the same thing.

you should be asking at a forum of artist that do similar work you do and see what the consensus is and why they would choose which model.

This is a great forum that I go to often to get help with some easy projects but many of them there are professionals that donate their time.
Avatar/Graphics Help
there on BBR there are other art related forums if you look around.

You are right...thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Years ago Macs didn't have very much software on the market. I don't know how it is today. I stick with what I know.

give up some things (like right-click capabilities with a mouse)

My MacBook right clicks just fine. Two ways actually, a light tap with two finger anywhere on the trackpad or a click in the lower right of the trackpad.

I agree that Mac is twice as expensive as PC with same specs. Also upgrading your Mac is not easy as your PC.

I vote for a PC especially if you gonna buy it from your own money.

I appreciate all your replies. I did post on the board for graphics linked above but haven't gotten a helpful answer yet.
I want a pc, I just don't want to kick myself if I do the wrong thing.
And my agent definitely isn't paying for it!

Suggest poking around on this free, well-attended site. Lots of people there. I've always received numerous, interested responses to my questions.

I switched almost five years ago after decades with PC. Like you, I was kind of paranoid about the prospect. Don't be. The learning curve is a breeze. If you have an Apple Store close enough to visit, go there. Everything they have is up and running all the time and you can play with them and make up your own mind.

Here is a link that might be useful: Free Mac forum

Do some research on which systems have fewer run problems when it comes to graphics-intensive operations. You will likely find Macs are better for this sort of thing. I am not a Mac bigot. I have 2 machines at home, and both are PCs running XP. However, I have a family member who is a graphics artist and has done his homework on this issue.