> Are you running ubuntu with all the graphical niceties ?

Yes.

> And is the laptop heating up more when you are running a vm ?

Not really but I honestly haven't hammered on the VM yet. I gave the VM 1024mb

> Are fans louder when running ubuntu in a VIM ?

Nope. I've heard stories about loud fans on the x220. My fan is dead silent. I actually have to put my ear close to the machine to know it's running.

Thank you. I am looking for a quiet laptop (currently using a VAIO) to run linux and I came to the conclusion that I better run it in a VM if I want to minimize fan noise.