Maximizing my laptop experience...HOW!?

So i just bought the Asus N61jQ series, this is my very first laptop.I have always built desktops and thought maybe for once ill try our the "mobility" deal. I love it!

Spec's
Q740 1.73ghz I7
4G 1066 RAM
ATI HD 5700 series
500gb HD
USB 3.0

with all the other basic good stuff a computer should have, here is my
issue:

This being the first laptop i have owned, i know that lots of people say "Hey there is a ton of bloatware on this thing" and all that jazz, but i would love to know from some of you veteran gaming laptop peeps how to make this laptop the "beast" i know its capable of being.

I feel as though i havent quite reached the limits of this laptop and i want to know what all this hype is about the I7 and the 5400 series ATI. I know the computer isnt a "Masterpiece" but i also know its capable of quite a bit, so my question is:

What should i do to this laptop to make it a mean machine without overheating the crap out of it? Im not even sure if i should keep some of this "Bloatware" or what. I heard you can assign the CPU to run better for games and tighten up the quad core into a single core and it runs crazy fast? Any tips, hints or advice would CERTAINLY be welcome! Thanks so much!

-Jason