I have a Compaq with ATI video and unless you really need DRI, then
the
open source drivers work great. If you need DRI, good luck, make sure
you have some holy water, or dead chicken, or religious amulet of your
choice to make it work.
The newest ATI isn't quite so pretty - the intel video Compaq I have
"just works" except for the wireless (broadcomm) which is getting very
close to working now.
Alan