I've had a couple of brother's with no problems. My sister and niece also haven't had any issues. I saw a couple on allbrands for around $700. You don't really need to hook it directly to your computer, but if you download embroidery designs from the internet, you need a way to get them into your machine. You can hook it directly to your PC or put the designs on a usb stick (thumb drive) and transfer them that way.