I've played the game on several computers, and my Macbook has by far had the best performance. In fact, it's had the best performance on just about everything... Anyway, as far as cost, I think you can get the older white model starting at 800 now that they have released the aluminum models. (The white model isn't really "old," I bought mine new in July of '08.) It's still not the cheapest computer out there, but you certainly get what you pay for.
