Okay - I've had this thing for a little while now, and I wanted to update my opinion on the machine.

First, the challenges. When I installed Linux, I blew away the Vista partitions. It turns out this thing doesn't come with a Vista install disk, (or any CDs for that matter). There was a backup partition though... :( After solving this problem, I wound up getting Vista and Linux installed at the same time. (On a side note, I thought Vista Home Basic would be way worse than it its... I actually don't mind it too much. There are, naturally, things I would like to change...)

Getting the video cards figured out in Linux was kind of a pain because it was actually kind of hard to find good information about what was causing the ATI/Intel driver conflict. As of now, I can't switch without going into bios and setting which card I want to use. This isn't too big of a deal though, and I never use the ATI card in Linux that much anyway. (Usually only in Vista).

Now for the good stuff. First of all, I am amazed at how awesome this keyboard is. The Dell keyboards I'm used to were alright, but had some flex to them. This keyboard is rock solid. Its actually kind of nice, and I enjoy typing on it. It makes the laptop feel like it is well built.

Second, the laptop runs relatively cool. Its cooler than my old Dell 5150, but not cool to the touch, (at least on the bottom). It is a little warm when I'm surfing the web or using a terminal or something, but nothing too unbearable. I guess we'll see how well this works out in the summer though. :)

Third, in Linux, I use powertop to monitor my power usage. When I use the Intel card, I get between 10-16 watts. I'm actually pretty impressed with this as my friend who owns a Dell Inspiron gets around 20. This means my 6-cell battery lasts a long time. I'm tempted to get the 9-cell battery separately for trips or something, but honestly, the six-cell is working really well.

Fourth, the wireless range on this laptop is surprisingly good. There is a very noticeable difference between the Intel 5100 card in this laptop and the POS Dell/Broadcom Trumobile card in my Dell. It has native Linux support as well, (as of Ubuntu 8.10/9.04, openSuse 11.1).

Lastly, the ATI 3650 card in this machine works better than I thought it would, (in Vista at least). Ever since a bad experience with an ATI card in my Dell 5150 laptop, I've never used them. I've always bought nVidia cards. This ATI card performs pretty well though. So far, I've only played Half Life 2 and World of Warcraft. I usually set the resolution to 1280x800, but I like to have the settings really high. It performs remarkably well. After a while in World of Warcraft, I bumped the resolution up to 1900x1200 (using an external LCD) and had decent video settings. The frame rates were good and the game looked nice. As far as something like Crysis goes, this video card wouldn't be able to deal with it. Since I don't play those types of games much anymore and am more of a casual gamer/programmer, this laptop suits me well.

In conclusion, if you're looking at getting one of these, I'd definitely recommend it. Its a very solid laptop, its not too heavy, and the hardware rocks. (The comparable MacBook Pro 15.4" was about $1k more expensive and didn't have DDR3 RAM, a 1067mHz FSB and the hybrid card used more juice). A few pointers though.

Get a refurb. They have the same warranty, have better hardware, and cost less. I found a machine with a better CPU and 4GB of RAM for about $150 less than the new machine. Everything else had the same specs.

If you do buy new, get the 2GB single DIMM option - then get on NewEgg and order a second 2GB dimm for $30-$40 dollars, (instead of the extra $100 that Lenovo wants).