I have a Toshiba Qosmio F50-10k since 2009 and even if its still in good condition (apart from a few burned pixels) it has a major problem from day 1: Overheating! And I'm talking about overheating to the point of shutting down on its own. Pretty bad because I lost a hard drive from that. I've sent it to service quite a few times but Toshiba refused to change the defective graphics card (that's the one that overheats) - processor doesn't even break a sweat, all work goes to the graphic card.

Here are the specs:

Toshiba Qosmio F50-10k
Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
4 Gb RAM
650Gb HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Windows Vista 32bit

Anyway, I'm looking for an update (not necessarily top notch),
An I5 is good (I7 better) <<no I3 because they are no different than a Core Duo>>
But I need to know if there are specific brands and/or models that have less overheating issues.

I'm not looking for a laptop with no overheating issues because there is none. And I'm certainly not considering a desktop (I travel a lot so don't mention it),
I just want to known if there are laptops that have a better management in heat issues.

Is there a laptop (under 1000$) that can handle GTA IV (for example) without shutting down?

From what I've heard until now ASUS ROG and MSI are the best in this department. They're a bit pricey though.
Does anyone have any experience with DELL or LENOVO?

And should I trust Windows 10? It is said that they are a resource hog and filled with bugs. Should I go for them or a FreeDOS system?

I own 3 overheating Dells. I decided that the smaller the case of any laptop/notebook, the more likely to overheat. One of mine would have to be taken apart both top and bottom to clean dust clogging the fan. All need air under, over and around them, and shielding from the sun. Never use on a bed, pillow, or lap. If you have pets as I do, just buy a new one every 5 years. I buy them used (one was actually new) on ebay for $200-500.

I won't give advice on a new computer, just Win10. Mine was one of the earliest offered to Win8 owners and yes it was very buggy, but I suffered through all the versions and now love it.

Have you considered replacing the graphics card on the Toshiba? I'm not sure of the specs on cards that will fit but there's LOTS of aftermarket cards.

I clean my laptop once every 2 weeks. As much as I can of course... I don't have the technical knowledge of how to open a laptop, I'm more accustomed with desktops.
But since I travel a lot I'm restricted in laptops.

I've never used it on bed, it's always on a cooling pad, plus an extra fan on the back to pull the hot air out.
But even though I keep it clean and with plenty air to blow in and out it still overheats. The problem is in the GPU. It always was.

Besides even when I took it to TOSHIBA for a thorough cleaning it didn't last for more than 2 days. After that it was the same all over again.

So you're saying to stay away from DELL huh?
And yes, I thought about it too. The slimmer the laptop the more difficult will become to make the air flowing. But all new laptops are slim. Only the MSI laptops are bulky like mine, but they are very expensive and I don't know anything about the brand.

I can't change the GPU. The model is obsolete so if I have to change the GPU it has to be the same, otherwise I will have to replace the entire motherboard. They've already changed the GPU from TOSHIBA (or at least that's what they told me) but nothing has changed. Probably the entire line was defective...