Distributions

[richardnharrison at btinternet.com]

This is more of a general question rather than a mohaa specific quesiton but i am sure its one that i could get a decent answer from the readers of this list.
I am rather new to linux but am wondering if different distributions offer different performance aspects to gaming servers. 
Is red hat better than suse or mandrake in one way but not as good in others etc.  
Or is it a matter of personal choice what distribution you run as they all offer the same functionalty and performance features.

Cheers,
Richard.