[mp3jrick]

Cap,
I also run a Sony Vaio model GRZ630, nice unit only had one problem in 2 years.
And that problem caused a shut down, not cool, lol.

I was starting to run with PCDJ FX and after a couple of hours it would just shut down like someone powered off one me.
Turned out the the additional load FX was applying was pushing the unit over the edge causing shutdown. It wasn't the program crashing in other words.

It was at this time (during Christmas party season of course) that I had to practice and implement "plan b". And I did this by utilizing the internal sound card on my back up laptop into another channel on my mixer. I had the back up loaded with the same data and running so it was seconds to make the transition. I just can't imagine dealing with sweating out a reboot with a floor full of guests while I made the change over to my back up. I now use an IPOD for back up, works perfectly.
You may have read that here in the forum.

Anyway, back to the problem I had.
The Sony had a very fine cooling condenser/heat sink in it.
I was amazed at what came out of it when I back flushed with compressed air being that it was only a few months old it was just clogged..

Granted, I do many out door events, but I'm talking a cloud when I did it.

The problem is that most of us using PCs really have no idea when we are approaching overheat until its too late standing behind it during a gig.

I came up with a filter that now protects the cooling system that I clean periodically as well as repeating the back flush.
This I strongly recommend, particularly with the Sony units.
In posting this in other forums, I have found several other Sony users that have encountered this same thing.