I'm a fan of the aluminum body. My Macbook Pro is 4 years old and it's a tank. You're right though, it does get pretty hot, but most high-end laptops do. I burned the graphics card out of my old plastic Fujitsu many years ago playing video games. Heat's just the price you pay to have the current fastest hardware.

I use a laptop cooler on my desk and lapdesk on the couch.