Tech: Trials and Travails of a Gaming Laptop

I've owned two different laptops so far (both have been my primary computer during these crazy college years). I chose both with an eye towards gaming capability, as I do enjoy the occasional PC game. What I've learned over the years, though, is that buying a gaming-focused laptop is just a recipe for disappointment.

First and most obviously, even the best, heaviest laptops lag behind desktops in terms of video card and CPU power. Second, laptops are expensive - you can literally buy two desktops of equivalent power for the price of one laptop (and if you build your own, you can get even better power for the money). Finally, and most painfully, the problem of heat from extended sessions eventually kills most gaming laptops...

Take my current laptop. I've played through "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" (a good 30 hours of 3D lightsaber RPG goodness), countless Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat sessions, Civilization 4, Half-Life 2, etc. I was literally gaming like crazy for about six months - but now, whenever I fire up something that stresses the card, the thing shuts down - I suspect something is wrong with the 3D card. The laptop, apart from 3D gaming, works fine - but my next laptop will be a thin and light.

(Back in the great state of Florida, so posting will be regular once again.)