few questions before i buy

hello everybody.

first of all... thanks for being here. i've learned a lot from lurking around, and will be making my first notebook purchase soon thanks to you guys.

i'm interested in the compaq presario r3000z series and i just wanted to ask a few questions before i bought it.

about faster (than 4200rpm) hard drives... i'm not a gamer, is it still going to be as significant of an improvement for me? i use photoshop from time to time. and i'll probly be transferring files to/from my destop quite a bit. but other than that... i can't really think of anything intensive i run. my brother uses a lot of drafting/3d programs, i suppose he'll be using this sometimes, i doubt the video card will be good enough for him though.

as i've said, i'm not a gamer, how likely is it that i'm going to need more than 512mb ram in the next 3-5 years?

when is the 64bit windows os is supposed to come out?

someone said that it's probably best to remove your battery if you're just going to be plugged in for long periods of time. how do you store your battery to protect it from dust/moisture? in a ziploc bag?
and what's the best way to dust off a battery before putting it back in?
and do you take off the battery while plugged in? or plug in after? does it matter?

i can't find a store that has a 15.4" laptop with wsxga, but i think i really want it because i code quite a bit, and can really use the extra desktop space. does anyone with wsxga find the fonts too small? would the size be similar to a 17" on wuxga?
to give you an idea of what i'm used to: my desktop is a 21" (not flat) on 1600x1200. the 17" wuxga i saw in the store is a little small, but i don't think i'd have problems getting used to it.

that's all the questions i can think of for now... thanks again!

 

Win64: free trial version is available already(will expire in 1 year):
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx
The final version is supposed to be released next year. Main problem is lack of some drivers.

Battery. Keep it 40% charged in a cool dry place.

RAM=512MB. Depending on what programming you are going to do, you may need 1GB in the future or even now (Visual Studio + Source Safe + Firewall + Antivir = quite a bit of RAM). Do not get more than 512 though because it is cheaper to buy it from some resellers. I would suggest going with 1 stick of 512MB and buy another 512MB if you feel you need it.

17" will be too heavy and bulky. Think twice before getting it. 15.4" is great for programming. But this is pretty subjective!!! Go to a store and check it out in person.

Hard drive. If you do programming with Visual Studio or something that creates projects with many files you WILL notice the difference. Ways to go:
1. Get 5400rpm
2. Get 4200rpm and buy Hitachi 7200rpm:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100519
Keeping the old one (4200rpm) for backups.
3. Get 4200rpm and wait till Seagate will ship their own 7200rpm notebook HD which will drive the prices lower since currently Hitachi is the only 60GB 7200rpm HD. Expected shipment from Seagate ~ in 1 month.

All info is my IMHO, provided as is, without any expressed or implied warranty and so on and so forth. I may be wrong, my post may contain misprints and blah, blah, blah of the kind. [ ]

 

thanks for the quick reply! =o)

battery: yes, in a cool and dry place. but other than keeping the area clean, are there any tricks or whatever to keep it dust-free and moisture-free? and, would it be a bad idea to keep it in a ziploc bag in the fridge if i expect to be plugged for a few days/weeks/whatever?

i do intend to get a 15.4", but i have no access to a 15.4" with a wsxga resolution. don't know if i'm just blind but local retailers don't seem to have any on display. i have no intention of getting a 17" (as you said, too bulky) i only mentioned the it because i was wondering if the font size of wuxga on 17" would be similar to wsxga on 15.4"
anyway, after seeing some pictures at another site and shrinking it to appropriate size... looks like the wsxga on a 15.4" is a pretty good size for me. i know my method is quite inaccurate, but if anyone has a better way, please suggest it. =o)

hard drive: hmm... i guess it would be a good idea to go for the faster stuff... and it would be nice to have a back up harddrive.

thanks again! =o)