I was in the same boat as you. I looked long and hard and realized that 1) KDE has truly magnificent window management and customizability and 2) the only environment comparable to Gnome 2 in resource footprint is XFCE.
I chose KDE but your requirements may vary. The cool part about linux is Live CDs/USB drives. It's not difficult to try out new things.
Yeah, good point, live usb has been a life saver beyond os install and preview.
I've intentionally been sitting on the fence for over a year now. Once Fedora 14 goes EOL, going to have to make the move.
What I have now is a dream setup (gnome 2, gnome-do, compiz, emerald theme mamnager), so have been in no rush. Was hoping Gnome issues would get sorted out; i.e. they'd listen to the power users screaming bloody murder. Apparently not, or not entirely.
I'll take gnome 3 for a spin, it can't be thaaaat bad (I hope); if I'm appalled, check out XFCE, and then, if need be, KDE (KDE felt complex/clunky compared to Gnome 2 when I made the comparison a couple of years ago, maybe things have changed)
I chose KDE but your requirements may vary. The cool part about linux is Live CDs/USB drives. It's not difficult to try out new things.