I am looking for some help on making my laptop run to peak performance.

I am currently using an Alienware Area51 M9750 laptop.

-Processor: 2 Intel(R) Core (TM) 2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz *dual*
-2 Gigs of memory
-Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT


Let me know if you need any more information

You could try game booster.

It's a free program that temporarly shuts off unwanted programs that are making your laptop slow, it's called "Gaming mode".

You can turn it back to normal whenever you want.

Also, try a laptop cooler.

It's like a little tray that has fans ect in it.

Is anyone familiar with the ASUS system manager? It also has a "Gaming mode"

Does that do about the same stuff?

Either stick more ram in it or see if it can have a huge-ass Turbo Memory card stuck in it. TBH Ram would be cheaper & once you've hit over 3gig the TM card would be redundant.

An external fan might help, but only if your laptop tends to heat up during use.

Put more RAM in, uninstall stuff you don't want, defragment, and run lots of virus and spyware checks. Also, do a run->msconfig and click the startup tab and uncheck everything you don't want running all the time.
Oh, and if you can find a good registry cleaner, use it.

ISP: boosters, i use roadrunner.

Hmm, I'm in need of this too. (not to derail or anything :v)

I might try one of those laptop cooling pads with the external fans and stuff, I'm pretty sure my problem is that it overheats, are those really expensive? and if so are they even worth it?

Laptop cooling pads are pretty good. You should be able to pick up a good one for around $80.

There was a very nice one in my catalog for only 24$, they are pretty cheap.