Sounds like a case problem.
Anyways there is nothing wrong with a cpu hitting 80, only if that 80 is prolonged for like 8 hours. Hell the i7 doesn't crap out untill 110-120 or so (but intell wont let you pull that stunt, down clocks when hitting 100). I pushed the i7 here to 98 before, but that was at 3.2ghz running prime95 with the default fan w/ no thermal paste. I lowered it down to 3ghz.
blade.... just go do what u do best.... sell your ass to buy u a new pc...
"BLINK-BLINK-BLINK-BLINK-BLINK"
$20 for 5 minutes... take it or leave it Blade.
Don't worry, I will be a returning customer. I will just have to have dirty hot sex with you 40 times before you have earned $2000. We both win here.
Actually the thermal cut off is 90C as it approaches that temp the heat increases exponentially as more and more energy is lost as heat in the conversion though the walls. This effect is amplified the thinner the walls are and thus the lower the nm value for the given chip.
On another note I think he said it was a laptop. Unfortunately almost all laptops have terrible cooling which is why I will only buy alienware b/c of the additional cooling they have.
Also your temps should not go above 60C when at max use to be safe. But I can say that the thermal cutoff for the latest intel chips does work as I have run mine with NO COOLING and it still works after the thermal limit was reached and it cut the power.