New PC... looking for hardware and OS feedback

[manofthefield]

Now I put in an AM3 mobo.  I guess it is future proofing plus I can use DDR3 ram on it

Funny how the price keeps going up the more I learn.  I'm at about $450 shipped w/o an OS, which still isn't bad.  I'm strongly leaning towards trying Ubuntu/Kubuntu.  I figure the worst that can happen is i don't like it and buy windows of my choice