The very first reply in the thread refers to the possibility of overheating.
The first five steps in
Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 test the hardware and it was one of the first links I provided to complete. So it cannot truthfully be said that all the help so far has been software. One should not criticize others help attempts when offering your own.
Step 4 deals with overheating:
Akura, please confirm you have completed this step, and report back temp readings and what was found in following the cleaning link.
Repeatedly I have asked that all steps be confirmed completed after there was no reply to quite a few.
Shouldn't we test the temperatures at idle and under load and clean out the dust before RMA'ing the laptop?
If the laptop is crashing itself whilst the display drivers are being used, it can happen randomly from startup to playing games.
I'm not saying that the heat is the problem now, what I am suggesting is that the heat was the problem in the past, which could have potentially burnt the motherboard out.
Therefore, actually proving the heat problem wouldn't work anyway because it is already broken and has the possibility of not showing the correct information on the motherboard heat monitor.
The fact that it is 4 years old, and being used to play games, would indicate that it is experienced with high temperatures considering Laptops don't have a decent way to exhaust it.
So certainly, ensure that it is free of dust bunnies, but the fact that it continuously and randomly kills the display is a hardware indication, not an indication that steam is out of date.
Akura, do me a favour. Install HWiNFO64 and post screenshots of the temps whilst idle, opening a program and possibly running a benchmark.
If it crashes during any of these times, try to remember the temperature. Also feel the actual laptop itself, and let me know specifically where the heat is emanating from.