Adobe Premiere Pro Video Play Issue

Question

This is probably not an advanced question, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding an answer.  I'm trying to use Adobe Premiere, and I'm importing my video.  In the first screen, the top left video play area that I import my raw video into, I find that I'm getting a very choppy play.  The choppy play is making it difficult for me to time my cuts.  The screen image will freeze while the audio continues to play.
When this happened initially, I assumed it was my hardware.  I was running what I considered to be a decent machine, but I figured I needed a better one.  So, I went and bought a better one.  Now I'm running a machine with a Quadro 3100 graphics card.  It's an I7, quad core, about 2.8 ghz if I recall correctly.  (It's supposed to be able to over clock or boost or something, but I don't know much about that stuff.)
Anyway.  Is there some sort of setting I should be using?  Any advice would be really, sincerely appreciated. 

Answer 1

John T. Smith,
My apologies for not having provided more information.
What version of Premiere Pro? Include the minor version number (e.g., Premiere Pro CS5.5 with the 5.5.2 update).
I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5, and I believe I just updated it to the 5.5.2.
Have you installed the recent updates? (If not, you should. They fix a lot of problems.)
I ran the update this morning, which is why I believe I'm using the 5.5.2.
What operating system? This should include specific minor version numbers, like "Mac OSX v10.6.8"---not just "Mac".
Windows 7, and I believe it is Professional.
What kind(s) of source footage? When telling about your source footage, tell us about the codecs, not just the container types. For example, "H.264 in a .mov container", not just "QuickTime".
These are Quicktime .mov files.  I'm afraid I don't have a lot of other information.  They are files that were transferred to my computer, but I wasn't around when they were initially done.
If you are getting error message(s), what is the full text of the error message(s)?
No error message.
What were you doing when the problem occurred?
The problem is consistent.
Has this ever worked before?
I've never seen it play smoothly.
What other software are you running?
Just typical Microsoft Office programs, and Chrome, and maybe Explorer.  But I rarely run anything else while I'm attempting to work in Premiere.
Do you have any third-party effects or codecs installed?
To my knowledge, no. 
Tell us about your computer hardware. Be especially certain to tell us about third-party I/O hardware (e.g., AJA, Matrox, Blackmagic, MOTU).
I'm using the MSI WT Series WT60 2OK 3K-615US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Are you using Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration?
I do not know how to use this.
Does the problem only happen with your final output, with previews, or both?
It only happens to the raw footage and timeline footage.  The output is fine, assuming I can find the correct place to make the cuts.