I have 2 lappy's myself, Ms Moon
1 MBP Dualie and 1 six yr old Acer - both have a cooling pad beneath
They are on 24/7/365...and only the Acer was revamped 2 yrs ago to XP (mostly cause I hated Vista)
Neither one of my hd's have ever needed replacement once turned to crunchers.
That being said - there are apps for fan control and the availability in preferences is still there to throttle - or increase/decrease a few different functions
It's still a smart app, it will back off as your resources are used by other things.
I'd say it's personal preference (as is most all else)
Try it..ask us for help w/ configuring if you need it...and if it's not working out - don't run it.
The system requirements for each of our cancer projects are in the FAQ too - so review.
You do look (with what you posted) - like you have even more than what I do in terms of specs..should be ok - leave the monitor open & use the lappy config to turn off the monitor after inactivity