So, how are the laptops (MBP, W500, XPS 16)?

[Brian Ericson]

I'm contemplating a laptop purchase and my current "top three" 
candidates are a MBP 17, Lenovo W500 (WUXGA/ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 
(512MB)), and a Dell XPS 16 (1080p/ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 (1G)).  I 
get the impression -- were I to go with the Lenovo or Dell -- that I'm 
pretty much stuck with the 2D radeon drivers, which seems a shame (I 
confess I like Compiz).

Can anyone comment on their experiences with these laptops?
o How well does video work?
o Sound?
o Sleep/resume?
o Fan noise?

My only two data points are the T61p I tried (shortly after Hardy Heron 
released; back then, they were using an NVIDIA card) and my wife's MBP.  
Hardy Heron wanted to run the T61p's (loud) fan constantly and 
sleep/resume, when it worked, took "forever" (over a minute to 
re-establish wireless connectivity).  I found it unusable next to my 
wife's MBP which is generally quiet, resumes instantly, and rarely gets 
rebooted (despite both of us being constantly logged onto it).

I'm hoping to hear that Linux has come a long way since my last attempt 
and would work well with either the Lenovo or the Dell.  But, if ATI is 
still to be avoided, does anyone have have any experience with "The 
Beast" (Lenovo W700), which ships with an NVIDIA card?  Seems too big, 
but I'll bet the screen is much nicer than the almost-too-dim W500's.