In what ways would I(a beginner)benefit from purchasing one model over the other. Although I kinda like the feel and sound of the 225 a little better, many have strongly suggested I go with the Casio in terms of being "beginner friendly" and easy to learn. Thanks for your time.

The 2 advantages that the Casio has is the pitch bender and the drum pads that are easier to use then the keys. On the other hand, the PSR225 has nicer sounds, more polyphony, better keyboard feel, and those stereo piano samples. Both keyboards being about the same price, you'll have to choose which features are more important to you. I see the pitch bender being the greatest advantage of the Casio over the PSR225. If that's not important for you to have, you'd probably do better with the Yamaha.