Outfitting my new laptop!

As I am going to be going to college this fall, I made a purchase of a new laptop.

Dell Latitude D820
Intel Centrino Duo Core 2.0 GHz
2 GB DDR2 RAM
80 GB Hard Drive
256MB Nvidia Quadro NVS 110M

I have some questions about things I should get for my computer. I want to have lots of storage and my 80GB hard drive won't cut it, so I am wanting advice on a an external hard drive (250 GB-300 GB). I have heard that firewire is faster than USB 2.0. My computer has a 4 pin firewire port, which I am thinking I would be able to get a converter cord to adapt for this smaller port. Also has anyone had any experience with Bluetooth mice? My comp has Bluetooth and I was wondering if it was worth getting a bluetooth mouse or should I just get a wireless one? Also, are laptop cooling stations a worthwhile investment?

Any and all input will be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

I'm wondering the same thing for my nc8430, especially with regard to a mouse. I plan on using the mouse whenever I get back to my dorm room, so maybe a wired mouse would be best for me. Any thoughts? I plan on buying a mouse, headphones, speakers, and a small cheap printer.

 

One other thing... Any suggestions on laptop security cables?

 

I use an external enclosure with USB 2.0/eSATA. I don't use firewire as I've had issues with delayed write failures using firewire drives (Windows XP bug IIRC). eSATA is an external SATA interface which allows you to purchase an eSATA ExpressCard or PCMCIA card and achieve full 3.0 Gb/s transfer rates between your external SATA drive and your laptop. If you don't care about that kind of speed, use USB as it is fast enough for most applications of data storage. I use eSATA as I am an audio engineer and do a lot of audio encoding and editing with my notebook, so I require the fastest external interface. Here are some links to products that support eSata:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16839228001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145167

I've had no experience with bluetooth mice so I can't help you there.

I'd consider a laptop cooling station if your notebook is too hot for you. If it doesn't run too hot and you aren't concerned with your notebook's temperatures, I wouldn't get one. My E1405 doesn't need a notebook cooler as it runs cool enough for me on or off of my lap. I'm not sure how warm the D820 runs, but I would wait until after you use it for a while to judge whether or not you want a cooling station. If you plan on gaming on it a lot, then it may be a worthwhile investment regardless.

 

If your laptop has bluetooth definatly get a bluetooth mouse, trust me its much more convenient. My laptop didnt come with bluetoth so I got microsofts HD Wireless notebook mouse. I love it its awsome, however I would prefer not to have to plug in the reciever, it takes up a valuable usb port. (even though I have a 7 port hub at home but on the road its a pain.)