Few Questions Before Purchase R3

Well my cousin is looking to purchase a M17x R3, but had a few worries, so hopefully some people can answer these questions (apologies if they have been asked many times before).

1. Is the system quite/no fan noise when just web browsing/watching videos?

2. What are the speakers quality like (not expecting anything amazing but an above average set)

3. Is it that much bigger than other 17inch laptops (not considering thickness) and do any of you take yours to classes/library at university.

4. What is the battery life like with the 6970 card and on the integrated graphics. (Just web browsing/watching a movie)

 

I highly recommend this laptop, it has exceeded all of my expectations. Now to answer your questions:
1. During light stuff such as web browsing it is virtually silent.
2. The speakers are of great quality for a laptop, they blow away the average laptop with loudness and quality. Some people only have problems because they feel for a 2000+ laptop they should be better.
3. The laptop is quite thicker than other 17" laptops but it is portable nonetheless. It does not seem to be wider than other 17" laptops to me. I take it to school with me and other places regularly.
4. The battery life with the 6970m is about 1.5 hours I believe under normal use but when switched to the IGP it is easy to get up to 4.5 hours with power saving feature enabled. Watching a movie you would probably get an hour less I'm guessing on IGP.

 

1. system quiet when browsing, the fan on the 6970m speeds up occasionally during video watching but is not loud
2. speakers have very little bass but play loud and clear
3. i have no problem carrying mine anywhere, it is a little large but not a bigger pain to haul around than my wife's 15" Dell
4. battery life on integrated graphics is around 4.5 hours, have not tried battery with 6970m only

Edit: I would like to add that I have been using personal computers for school, work, or games since they existed (pre-IBM PC). I also build gaming computers as a hobby for family and friends. I have never been more pleased or impressed with a piece of computer hardware than I am with the m17x r3.

 

Thanks for the replies guys +1, just wondering are there any pictures with comparisons to other laptops?

 

of course there are, use search engine. there are a variety of comparisons with R2, R3 black & red...

 

When you on it there is a bit of noise but after that it's all quiet. So far I'm happy with the noise level.

I would not call them great. I prefer using headphones which give me great quality sound with it.

It'a little heavier/thicker but nothing to be alarmed off.