Specs:

• 1920x1080
• i7 1.6 GHz quad core
• 6GB RAM
• 1GB ATI Radeon HD 6570M/5700 Series
• 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

Love this laptop for many reasons, but it constantly runs hot (CPU is low 70s with basic tasks and often 80+ is not uncommon) and I'm finding it too much to deal with. The laptop feels very hot (almost too hot for a lap) and often gets so hot that the OS slows down or freezes altogether.

I've tried cleaning it out and even replacing the thermal paste. I often use an external cooler, but it only helps 3-5 degrees and it's a pain to have to use. I've come to the conclusion that it just runs hot.

I have two questions:

1. What is to blame? The i7 processor, the gfx card, or is it just that this laptop has poor cooling?
2. Does the Dell XPS 15 run cooler? I'm looking at replacing my current laptop, but I don't want to run into the same problem.