Im running Arcgis on mine and doing some heavy geo-processing is effortless.  This thing is a beast.  I have yet to hear the fan kick on and its remained cool the entire time.  I haven't tried games on it so i camt comment on that...but for cad and gis users this is the best ive used

sound relatively good....really can't agree with you.Just trun off the damn THX software...

Thanks for following up Allen :)
I use a lot of graphic software from Adobe: Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere, AfterFx, Indesign etc - so the AdobeRGB color gamut screen makes sense! I have had my Dell laptop for 6 years now (06') its a Inspirion 6400 Core 2 duo (insane right? beast of a computer  ;) ) and through a combination of hardware and software upgrades and maintenance - it still hums!

But seeing as how I have maintained my laptop this long - investing in a workstation that has up-gradable parts (CPU? GPU?) and packed with features seems like a good idea. My concern lies in the videocard - I have done some 'research' on GeForce vs. Quadro videocards: The GT60 with the geforce GTX680 has the same hardware as the Quadro K5000 card. Aside from the huge performance difference (hardware alone) more and more software companies are using DirectX for their rendering (including Autodesk in there 2014 software) instead of the trusty OpenGL. Have you heard the same thing? If more companies are using DirectX across the board because it is more reliable/stable than before - 5 years from now when I still have my GT60 (0NE or 0NG) which one will still be kicking a** and which one will be starting to choke on the more epic software and games?

I want my computer to handle the Adobe & Autodesk stuff like a pro and be just as versatile when it comes to games (doesnt have to be the ultimate gamer laptop though - but be able to run most games). Which configuration will have the longevity with the way the industry is going?
Thanks Allen - sorry for the long question. Look forward to your thoughts!

Hello,

Nvidia Quadro is optimized for CAD software, so workstation graphics such as the one in this GT60 model would offer better performance compared to a similar consumer-grade GeForce solution if you are a heavy Autodesk user.

Optimus has run near-flawlessly in-and-out of gaming sessions in our other notebooks equipped with workstation graphics; It was indeed odd to see the GT60 not use its dGPU for any games at all. Reinstalling drivers did not solve the issue and we were unable to reformat the machine. Its gaming potential is thus inconclusive as it could have been a problem (such as our battery issues) specific to our test unit.

This issue with the k2000 not being able to run any games - is this typical? This wouldn't be something intentional in the design as this is a "workstation" and not a "gaming" rig would it? I have been comparing both models of the gt60 and I debate what is the better long term investment? The difference being the screen and videocard essentially. My software arsenal is adobe and autodesk products mostly, with a few games. Thoughts?