You're right! It does appear to support an aero-like look. Tried actually installing the old video drivers (ones that work in Win7) and once again, like with the DP, it refuses to do that. So, left with the Video Controller error in Device Manager.
UPDATE: OK, this like REALLY wierd! I made the mistake of grabbing the wrong DVD, and instead of installing the CP, installed the DP all over again. What's wierd, is that the first time, I did not get any Aero-like screen stuff; this time, I did.
So, I'm restoring the laptop to the pre-win8-install state and will try installing the CP again.