My problem with spending more is that.... I don't have more. I figured I needed a laptop for my second run at school, and I wouldn't be using it for gaming per-se, so I could run Linux just fine on it and do everything I wanted to do open-source. Part of me wants to do it anyway, even on untested hardware, beause it will be a learning process, and I will have time to try and sort things out. So should I attempt to contact the manfacturer to find out what exactly is in the laptop? I'm appalled at the amount of 'power' the laptop has at such a short price point, but I know they had to either cut corners somewhere, or do something that might compromise the whole journey/foray into SUSE/laptop world. I'm kind of set on this machine based on price vs. power.

Browsing the ztsystems website, I found a drivers page, which lists at least the brands that supplies several components of their laptops/desktops, and none (or very few) of them seem to be off-brands. The list is here. I know this doesn't help very much... I think I'll contact them.