Have you had this issue with any other distro?  Do you think your swap space could be part of the problem?  Have you considered a cooling pad for the laptop?

Just random ideas

Thanks for the response. I had windows in this laptop earlier and never had any such issues. Haven't tried another distro yet. how do i find out if the swap space is creating the trouble?

I'd have to suggest you talk with much more experienced users than myself for that.  I e-mail questions to DoorToDoorGeek from Podnutz sometimes.  His e-mail is [email protected].  He's a great resource, even if you only listen to his podcast "Linux for the Rest of Us."

I know NVidia and ATI can cause issues with linux distros, though.  It's normal, from what I understand.  Sorry I can't be of more assistance.  If you get the answer, could you share with the community?

Thanks JLey, your efforts to help are really appreciated.