New
#11
I've gotta say from experience (so far), my laptop hasn't had any problems. And it's cooling system isn't the best.
The CPU hasn't got above 70 degrees celcius and the GPU above 75. So its going fine.
And the new ASUS G73 laptops have a very good cooling in them (I believe). They have a good flowing system. Sure it's never going to be as good as a PCs one, but they can still get good.
Anyway, assuming you don't want a high end graphics card (mid range), then heres a list from newegg of laptops between $800 and $1100. They all have: at least a 500GB harddrive, Blu ray drive combo, and a mid range graphics card:
Newegg.com - ASUS N53JF-XE1 Notebook Intel Core i5 460M(2.53GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
Newegg.com - MSI FX700-024US Notebook Intel Core i5 480M(2.66GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
Newegg.com - HP Pavilion dv7-4180us NoteBook Intel Core i5 460M(2.53GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG RF710-S02 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm Blu-Ray Drive NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS7745G-9823 NoteBook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
Newegg.com - HP Pavilion DV7-4070US NoteBook Intel Core i5 450M(2.40GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 640GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
I don't really have a personal recommendation from them (because I haven't used any of them :P), but the first one is the only one with a 15.6" screen if you're wanting portability.