i STRONGLY suggest Windows 8.
And before you install Start8/ ClassicShell atop, i suggest try the new UI for at least a week. It's gonna be really frustrating in the beginning, frustrating to the point where you sign up to a tech review website just to complain how hideous it is and how Microsoft design team is led by a bunch of retards, but the magic one liner is "Never give up". It takes some time to appreciate the beauty of Live Tiles, Apps, and Charms, but IMO, it's a better design. Most people use, at the most, 10 to 15 applications regularly. Once you "pin" those most-used applications on the new start-screen (or the taskbar which is still available in all its glory), you're all set to enjoy the best of both worlds. Windows 8 Modern UI is 100% functional with a keyboard and a mouse!
The only two things which could have been better are :-
1> No "Aero Glass" in Windows 8.
2> Multitasking in Modern UI apps is plain ugly, resulting from the idea of running every app full-screen. However, the desktop is still available, and classic windows applications multitask just as efficiently as they did in Windows 7.
Congratulations on the new computer