Sand filters are by far the easiest to use and they do a great job. DE filters will filter out particles that are a little smaller, but they are also a whole lot more trouble to fool with than sand. I will tell you this, all of the moderators on this forum have sand filters on their pool instead of DE. We also use a little trick where you can add just a little DE to your sand filter and it will cause the sand filter to filter just a little better. But, even without using that little trick, a sand filter will give you water that is clear and I doubt for the most part (except at night when you had an underwater light shining into your pool) that you would be able to tell much difference. My opinion is go with the sand and yes, Hayward is a good brand. Stay away from cartridge filters. WAY, WAY too much trouble!!

On another note, since this is a new AG pool that you are setting up, many dealers try and sell you a pump that is too big for your pool and a filter that is too small. If you can give us some other details about the pool (size of pool, size of pump, size of filter) we can advise you if it is all appropriately matched. In the case of pools, bigger is not always better when it comes to pumps.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forum!