Mobile parts have minimal heat issues compared to non-mobile parts. If a laptop manufacturer can't adequately cool a 45w mobile processor they're the ones that suck, not the CPU. A Macbook Pro with a 2820M barely gets warm. Same deal with a Lenovo T520 and W520.
But you're not running your software on a part, you are running on a system. So you have to consider the system as a whole when making purchase decisions. Refer to point above. If your trading software is browser-based, then a Mac is probably fine. But if your trading software runs on the OS, then you need to check if it runs on the Mac, keeping in mind that the most popular OS platform for trading software is Windows. As for the Lenovo brand, I'm glad that the Chinese company that acquired the ThinkPad product set from IBM is keeping up quality and reliability. I had guessed they would not at the time of acquisition, but am glad they proved me wrong.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod3330177 899 blkfriday deal, hp 15.6 laptop 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM 8GB DDR3 1TB Hard Drive Blu-ray ROM 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
Well, there you go, you don't have a clue... The single largest source of heat in any modern desktop or laptop today is the GPU, not the CPU. I don't care what trading software you care to hang your hat on, none of them come close to driving a GPU the way a modern FPS game does. Heat is not an issue in a quality laptop when it comes to trading software of any stripe, period.
Talk about a coincidence ... did you read the first customer review? Here it is: Got this as a replacement for my aging Intel Quad desktop. It comes packed with lots of features in a small package and the combination of Core i7 processor and high power Radeon graphics chip provide decent gaming but..... all this packed in a small package presents a major issue when using - Heat!!!!!. Yes, the cooling fan does a job of trying to keep things cool but when both CPU and graphics chip cooling fans are running, it becomes too noisy to enjoy. I should have gone with a cooler CPU like Core i5.
This post is a great example of how you need to be careful about relying on posts in a forum. This poster's knowledge of computers is about the same level as his maturity.
Oh, so you're saying I'm wrong? That trading software pushes your system just as hard as an FPS game does? Prove it. Until then, I stand by what I said; you don't have a clue what you're talking about.
For those that think Sparky is da bomb, my regards. Otherwise, here's a site that takes their time to actually provide some quantitative performance, including system temperature. Here's one review for an HP Pavilion dv6-6008eg (note, it comes with an i7-2630QM): www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-Pavilion-dv6-6008eg-Notebook.56672.0.html And, here's their review of a Lenovo W520, with a higher performing i7-2820QM: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-ThinkPad-W520-Notebook.53220.0.html This is a great site for getting some quantitative feedback on noise, heat and performance that can be impaired due to temperature throttling in Sandy Bridge processors.