A Good Place to Start

Linux can be easy and Linux can be very difficult.  It depends on which "flavor" or "distro" you choose.  There are: Fedora, Mint, Debian, Ubuntu, SuSE, Redhat, CentOS, Slax, Slackware, and more.  I just named some of the major distros.
There is also AMD64, i386, i586, i686, x86_64, and so on.  And then there are the desktops: KDE, Gnome, Xfce4, and several more.  I am just demonstrating that there are several choices and that can be confusing to a novice or mid-level Linux user getting ready to load their new box with a Linux distro. 

So, you bought the new hardware, have it all assembled and you are ready to load something.   Read the following sections and download the net install or live  iso file.  Burn it to a CD and boot your new box with it. 

Everything I say here can be checked out on wikipedia, google, etc.  The internet is a highly developed research tool.  Use it.

EASY
If this is your first time with Linux and you want everything to load automatically and run out of the box, then this section is for you.
Ubuntu and Linux Mint are easy to load, self configure, and have 95% of the bells and whistles for most users.  Linux Mint is reported to load and run well on laptops.  I use it on mine.

 MID LEVEL
The next level of difficulty will probably be: Fedora, SuSE, Debian, Redhat, and CentOS.  More user interaction required and a little more computer experience required.

 CHALLENGE
Some of the most difficult are Slax, Slackware, etc.  You should know computer hardware well, and be able to configure networking parameters, etc.  Many operating systems at this level require user interaction to compile.

EXTRA STUFF
Load the 32 bit systems unless you are running more than 4 GB of ram.
Load the 64 bit systems if you are building a server. 
KDE and Gnome are fully developed desktop managers.
Xfce4 is the new kid, runs fast, and is easier to support over a several machine environment.  (In my opinion and experience)

That is a very brief guideline for choosing which Linux distro you should choose.  Do your research, make a decision, and try it.  Don't be afraid to try something different. 

Next time, something for the network support person.  Make your computer work for you while you drink your morning coffee.
Have fun.
Jim