I was going to dual boot for a while now I'm not so sure I want to after hearing OG's disparaging remarks.
While I can't speak to version 10 (and kernel 2.6), I recently had the opportunity to install version 9 on an old computer. The install went flawlessly. No video issues, no wheelmouse issues, no sound issues, no network issues. It worked perfectly out of the box. In other words, it was absolutely terrible, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Seriously, although v10 is so new the bugs may not have been worked out of it yet, don't let anyone scare you off from trying it yourself. Since you have different hardware, your mileage will vary.

The best thing about Mandrake (and RedHat, for that matter) is that if you're new to Linux, their graphical installers make the entire installation process completely painless.

The Debian package management system is, however, much better in the long run than working with an rpm-based system like Mandrake (and RedHat). But Debian-based systems are a bit more difficult to install.