So, I threw FreeBSD onto this Vaio desktop I have sitting next to my main desktop, in my semi-annual "I wonder if I can have a desktop running only free software without wanting to stab myself / scream in frustration" department.
Seems this model of Vaio has a tendency to hard-lock (freeze kernel) when doing X'y things.
Managed to get the lite KDE FreeBSD desktop up tho. Not bad. Still fraught with segfaults, but not bad. "Great Job! You get a pizza party!".