I'm running an Asus U38n, which has AMD chipset and graphics. I picked it because I liked the Asus design, AMD made it substantially cheaper than the Intel Asus Zenbook, and it allowed me to upgrade RAM and hard drive (unlike the unibody Zenbook). However, I've had repeated problems with Ubuntu updates breaking the Radeon graphics support, to the point where I've had to reinstall from scratch several times (and currently have 400MB of delayed upgrades to avoid going through that rigamarole again). 14.04 has greatly improved power management, moving from 2.5-3 hours in earlier kernels to well over 4 hours now, in part because my display brightness settings now work correctly.
Because of the problem with the Radeon graphics support, I wouldn't recommend using a laptop with AMD graphics. I previously had a Dell e1505 with Nvidia graphics that worked without trouble, and I've had no trouble with integrated Intel graphics support.
Also, I have a 1.5 year-old Sony Vaio from work. The weird BIOS Sony uses is completely borked for Linux, as I have not been able to so much as boot from a USB drive, much less dual boot. Actually, I may have gotten it to boot to a USB drive once using some dark voodoo magic, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice a chicken to Jobu just to boot into Linux, so I strongly recommend against even trying with the Sony laptops.
Because of the problem with the Radeon graphics support, I wouldn't recommend using a laptop with AMD graphics. I previously had a Dell e1505 with Nvidia graphics that worked without trouble, and I've had no trouble with integrated Intel graphics support.
Also, I have a 1.5 year-old Sony Vaio from work. The weird BIOS Sony uses is completely borked for Linux, as I have not been able to so much as boot from a USB drive, much less dual boot. Actually, I may have gotten it to boot to a USB drive once using some dark voodoo magic, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice a chicken to Jobu just to boot into Linux, so I strongly recommend against even trying with the Sony laptops.