ubuntu studio is out!  if you are a blender enthusiast or graphics person you should give it a try, even if you've never used linux before.  if you dont have linux already you'll need to install an ubuntu package- either ubuntu or kubuntu 7.04.  i personaly did it with kubuntu.  then download the torrent and burn the iso onto a CD and install it.  there is more on this part specificaly at http://www.ubustu.com/ and http://www.blendernation.com/2007/05/12/ubuntu-studio-released/.   

while it sounds as though ubuntu studio was made specificaly for audio stuff, after trying some blender and yafray renders it also seems to be alot quicker for these things.   on my 3ghz pentium D computer with ubuntu studio a simple gi box test renders at about .8 seconds with yafray.  without ubuntu studio on that computer it did it in about 4 or 5 seconds.  on my windows core 2 duo laptop it runs about 2 or 3 seconds.

Sweeeeet! Thank you for the info. I was going to go with Ubuntu for my next Linux. This is even better. Woooot!