Jim,
I know they can seem to be expensive but I highly recommend Macs running windows via bootcamp.
However for your work I can understand wanting to stick with a Windows machine. In that case I think you should seriously consider building your own machine. That's always the way to get the most machine for your money and it can be quite a bit of fun too!
Also, I can report that Windows 8 seems very stable and that I've been surprised at how nice it actually is - even without a touch screen.
Just a few things to think about.
