Personally, I didn't like my Acer either. I got a Toshiba Satellite, custom built, for around $550 (including taxes, shipping, etc.) and it's still working perfectly 2 years later. I back up and all of that, but haven't had any problems. Before this, I had a really lousy Acer that didn't last long at all, and before that I had a Sony Vaio for 6 (!) years. The Sony cost more, and today I wouldn't do it, but for the frequent travel and high use at that time, it was a good purchase. My point is that some laptops do last a while and some don't. Like with anything else (tvs, cars, furniture) it isn't just about the price, but about the quality. In my personal and work experience, Toshiba Satellites have been great, so I'm sticking with that. I hear good things about Macs too, but nothing that makes it seem worth spending double or more what I spent on my machine. I think it's not as simple as PC vs. Mac.
Good luck!