Dealing with Gateway

I've never been a fan of technical support for major companies... this is true with Dell, Gateway, and Microsoft. I know first hand how Microsoft handles their techinical support and I don't like it...
I have a Dell at work and at home and the place I work for now has a strategic aliance with Gateway meaning that we pretty much have to have a letter from God stating that his devine will requires that I purchase from another computer company before our purchasing department will allow to to purchase otherwise.
That being said I got a Gateway Laptop. It's a very nice laptop, but it has one problem... it locks up after about 10 minutes of game play... So I sent the following e-mail to Gateway:

My machine keeps locking up whenever there is a high video intensive application running. The machine is hot to the touch when trying to turn it off and back on to get it back to working order

I got the following response:
Thank you for using Gateway's Online E-mail Support. If your system locks up, I suggests you follow the steps to help you yhour issue.

Intermittent Lockups Using a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or CD-RW Drive in Windows XP

In the following steps, ROM drive can be any optical disc drive capable of reading a compact disc, such as a CD-ROM, DVD, CD-R, or CD-RW.

* If hardware or software was added immediately before the issue started, remove the added hardware or software. Turn off the computer before removing hardware.

* If it is known when the issue started, use System Restore.

Note: If no hardware or software has been added and System Restore is not applicable continue troubleshooting.

Test after each step until a resolution is found.

1. Determine whether the lockup occurs intermittently or consistently.
If it is consistent, refer to the Consistent Lockups Using a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or CDRW Drive in Windows XP checklist.

2. If the computer currently has stopped responding, press
CTRL+ALT+DELETE to determine whether it is a hard lockup or a soft
lockup.

3. If the lockup occurs only when accessing a certain disc:

a. Verify that the disc is an original, not a copied or burned disc.
b. Verify that the disc is free of scratches, dust, or smudges.

4. If the issue is happening in only one program, and that program runs
from the ROM drive, check to verify that the correct disc is in the
drive. If the correct disc is in the drive remove and reinstall that
program.

5. Check Event Viewer for any error or warning events.

6. Disable all programs running in the background.

7. Run Disk Cleanup.

8. Run Disk Defragmenter.

9. Start the computer in Safe mode.

a. Check Device Manager for duplicate devices.
b. Try to recreate the issue, if applicable. If the computer works
properly in Safe mode, the issue may be a program or device driver
loading.

10. Check Device Manager in Normal mode. Verify the following:

a. Everything is properly installed and does not contain a red X or
yellow exclamation point.
b. There are no device conflicts.
c. There is no hardware listed under Other Devices.

11. Run Check Disk.

12. Disable the screen saver.

13. If applicable, turn off the computer. Disconnect all external
devices, such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and docking station if
applicable.

Note: Because the computer was experiencing an intermittent issue, you
need to test the computer for that specific issue, until it is felt that
the issue has been resolved. If the issue still exists, and you have
not already done so, you should write down what was being done and what
programs were open at the time the issue occurs. This helps determine
what is causing the issue.

Not the solution I was looking for... plus they just didn't get it... I think it's the canned response from the techsupportinator (TM) and not a real answer.

So I sent the following e-mail:

The lock ups are consistent with any program that uses the graphics processor more than normal. In other words, any program that has graphics in it such as games. The lockup occurs every time and the top of the computer around the power button area are very hot to the touch. Since ATI doesn't make drivers for this particular laptop I'm running the drivers that came with the system. Any help as to why it keeps locking up whenever I used the graphics card would be much appreciated.

Me mentioning that I was playing a game was a mistake since I got this back from gateway:

I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. Regarding your computer that lockups when playing games that requires a better graphic controller, I suggest that you upgrade the video card on your computer by adding a PCMCIA video card. For more information on the available and compatible replacement/upgrade part for your computer, I suggest that you contact our Gateway consultant.

Are you aware that Gateway can provide you with the hardware, and we can
also train you on how to use it?

If you are interested, you can speak with a Gateway Consultant to learn more about available hardware upgrades such as additional system memory, larger hard drives, gaming peripherals, and much more.

For more information or to place your order, please contact a Gateway Consultant at the address below.

Blah blah blah

So now... I've sent this response:

Perhaps I was not clear enough in my e-mail. The video card in this machine is the best that can be sold in a laptop, therefore I'm not looking for a better graphics card. I am saying that the computer locks up anytime a graphic intensive program is used. For example, when I use Adobe Encore to edit a movie or windows movie maker it will lock up. When I go to power down the machine, because the mouse and keyboard have both stopped responding, I find that the power button and the surrounding area are very hot to the touch. I would assume that the video card processor or the Pentium 4 processor are located there and are generating more heat than usual due to the large about of graphics that is being rendered onto the screen.

My question is. Is there something I can do to lower the heat coming from the machine and therefore hopefully prevent the lockup from occurring? Or is this a problem with this machine that should not be happening? I have a co-worker with the same laptop (although it has more memory than mine 1gig compared to my 512) and it does not appear to have this lock up problem like mine does using either the same or similar programs on a regular basis.

Now I sit and wait for their response...