ASUS F81Se-X2 overheating?

Hey guys, I finally got my long awaited laptop, and I eventually settled on a ASUS F81Se-X2 from Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Asus-F81Se-X2...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247391371&sr=1-1 for reference) thanks to some very kind relatives who gave me a $200 gift card for graduation. I ended up getting it for $550 with the discount including shipping and tax, so I think I got quite a deal on it!

I've been very happy with my laptop so far and I've had no problems, but the only concern I've been noticing lately is that the left side of the laptop (palmrest, touchpad, and keyboard from about the g key and on) tends to get very warm when I'm gaming or doing something else that's a little more processor intensive. It can get a little warm when I have it on for extended periods of time (which is pretty much everyday, for several hours) but mainly it's hottest during the situations I mentioned. I purchased a cooling pad for the laptop today, but even that doesn't seem to be helping - SpeedFan still says my processors are hitting 50 degrees Celsius on up, and this was after I let it rest for awhile, so I suspect it's actually even worse than that. I want to make sure I'm not wearing out my poor laptop before it even makes it to college!

So basically my question is, are these sorts of temperatures normal for laptops? Can I do serious damage to the internal parts this way? The most intensive gaming I've been doing has been limited to TF2/WoW/Warhammer, no Crysis or anything near that range. Is there any way to solve the problem, besides avoiding said situations/cutting down laptop usage? I'm just wondering if it's perhaps a manufacturing problem with the specific model itself or if it's my own bad habits; I do have a 2 year warranty on it so I'm not too concerned, but again, I want to be aware of a problem before it begins to snowball.

Thanks to anyone who can be of help.

 

I'm unfamiliar with the F-series of Asus, but that seems perfectly normal. For reference, check this picture. The computer being shown here is a high-performance model G51, sitting idle for 30 minutes.

50C seems perfectly normal for a processor, but I might be wrong since it's a 14-inch, and sometimes smaller equates to lesser cooling. Second thoughts aside, you seem perfectly fine.

If you are worried, always invest in a laptop cooler.

 

What are the CPU temps under load? You won't damage anything unless some parts are ~90C for an extended period of time.

Download HWMonitor for CPU GPU and HDD temps.

part safe-max(in my opinion) cut off temp
CPU 80C 100C
GPU 90C 105C
HDD 50C 60C