HP Compaq R3000Z custom questions and links

first of all, hi everyone. i have a very old (packard bell that's about 10-11 years old, 100 something mhz processor... can only have 1 internet explorer window open or it freezes... and win 95!.. lol... i hate it so much) computer, and i'm finally going to get a new comp (sort of a going to college thing... and i need a notebook for speach tourneys). My grandpa's getting it for me, and i'm hoping to get a compaq R3000Z customized with the following:
-AMD 64 2.0ghz
-512 mb RAM (2 dims... i'm trying to keep cost down and upgrading isn't too important since i'll be broke in college anyway)
-cdrw/dvd combo
-30 gb HD (again, trying to keep cost down... i don't need a big hard drive)
-Nvidia GeForce 440 GO w/ 64mb, tv-out, & 1394 port
-15.4" widescreen
-12 cell battery
... the rest is all pretty much the same, but basically i need more info to give my grandpa. i've heard people say that this computer is getting great reviews, but can anyone send me links to these good reviews... i've only found a couple (and when i have they're for the intel system or they're old reviews that aren't up to my comps specs). and does anyone have any idea on how it does on battery life with the 12 cell? i don't much care about the actuall time, just how it compares to other notebooks. any help you can give me is much appreciated, thanks to all

o, also, it comes out to $1300 for what i listed above and the free wireless upgrade, floppy drive, mouse, notebook light, and the cheap $20 printer and cable (also the stuff it comes with that i didn't list cause i didn't change)... is this a good price? again, thanks

thanks for all the responses first of all. about the amd, it's mainly because i like amd, and i've heard much better things about them. also, they're cheaper, and the amd 64 claims to be the only 64 bit windows compatible processor. what i'm going to be using it for is somewhat complicated... in short alot. I'm going to a junior college for my associates degree in engineering after which i'll continue at a 4 year university to get my bachelors. obviously, with that i'm gonna need to be able to use CAD programs efficiently. in the next year though, i will be on the speach team and taking english classes, so i need word processing. then, i will be using it alot for chatting online and just browsing around. then, on top of that, i want to be able to do a decent amount of gaming. since i'm going to have to pay tuition, i can't really afford many newer games, but i already have GTA 3 and FS 2000, and i plan to get something like NFS underground. i'd like these to run at least somewhat well, but i doubt i'll be gaming on anything but AC power. i'm also gonna be using it as my DVD player, and the TV out on the GeForce is nice. i've also been told by a friend that i should really go for something with dedicated memory, 8x agp, and an nvidia chipset. and about the emachines... how are there customer reviews and stuff. because my grandpa is buying this for me he doesn't neccesarily trust what i say, he wants reviews and things like that. he didn't want to buy another notebook because someone said the fan was noisy and battery life sucked (which i may be wrong, but don't laptops generally eat batteries alive, especially when it's an 8 cell?)... and i don't care about fan noise, but i guess he does. anyway, thanks for the suggestions, and any further ones are much appreciated

EDIT: i just went to emachines, and i wish i could custom configure it. the closest to what i was looking at in compaq is the M6805, and that lacks some features i was looking for (it does have some features that are better such as the FSB of the processor and larger HD, but i don't really need that, but i do need things like a floppy drive and other basic stuff.). another plus of the compaq i selected was that's with a printer... which i'll need since i don't have a working one.

yea, i know those can be added, but not on my budget. anything that doesn't come in a package with the comp i'll have to buy, and i can't afford it. but i am considering the 6805, how are it's reviews (and do you have any links to websites that have current reviews? i know many reviews out there are a little old and have out of date specs)

looking at the specs they list in that review i have a question. does anyone know any more about the AMD 64 3200+ (2.0ghz) in the R3000Z? i saw the 6805 has a more detailed processor description... is there not a more extensive description for the compaq AMD because those features aren't there, or because they just don't feel most people know what it means or care (or are just to lazy to list them)?

well, it's not too bad on price at only $100 more than the R3000Z(with similar or comperable stuff and whichever P4 is the cheapest with hyperthreading), but i don't think my grandpa will go for that. i know it seems pretty weak that i have to go bye what he says, but he's getting me a $1300 computer i can't afford on my own, so sacrifices must be made. i already pitched to him the R3000Z last night, but next time i talk to him i'll ask him about maybe the dedicated series. thank you guys for all of your help though, it has all helped alot. just as a question... i know that most laptops you can't really replace much in them... but in the R3000Z, can you replace the graphics card or is forever hardwired into my system? thanks again

lol, well put. i'm still kinda shaky on the dedicated... i don't like intel's much. i mean either way i doubt i'll complain, but if i had a choice i think i'd go with AMD. and with the amd it won't be needing upgrades for a while since it can handle 64 bit architecture (which idk much about, but i'd imagine that CAD programs might start moving into since i'm assuming it's twice as complex). i'm gonna try and give him both machines and see which he would rather get. whichever i wind up getting i doubt i'll be disapointed. right now, the most advanced computer i own is an AMD 500mhz hp w/ 64mb ram, & i think a 13 GB HD... and the whole system has MASSIVE software issues (and i think there's something wrong with the HD too), and it can't be used period because it gives everything illegal action messages. and the video card can't even fully install GTA3 (not to mention it's using win 98). so anything is going to blow me away. (btw, i'm using a 10 year old comp @ the moment who's vid card has 1mb) i'd like to get the dedicated version, but when on the comparison screen it's so much higher i think he'll spaz out. idk though, he's a smart guy and i think once he gets over the initial shock like i did, he might think it's a good idea. thanks again though, and does anyone have the full specs of the 3200+ AMD 64 on the R3000Z (like FSB, cache, etc...)?

wow, that's cool. can anyone get back to me on wether or not it's the same processor (with the 1 mb cache and the FSB)... because if it's not (and probably even if it is... but it's a stronger selling point) i think i might be getting the emachines. he was looking for a preconfigured that was on sale, and there's one right there. it doesn't come with a printer, but one can be easily had for $50. the only problem is i don't think he's in much of a hurry to get it, and i'm assuming that sale isn't gonna last forever. i haven't even talked to him since emailing him about the $1300 computer, for all i know he could be flipping out about that. well, i guess it can't hurt too much to try, thanks for the heads up canonman

i agree about hp printers... i mean the one that we got 10 years ago with this comp has only developed problems in the last year. that's 9 years of faithfull service. of course i did have problems with an hp officejet... but o well. and in terms of the floppy, it is nice because having the most basic form of communication is really nice... but now that i think about it i can just save whatever it is in an attatchment and send it to myself in an email since yahoo upgraded to 100mb of storage. hm... but yea... can anyone post any emachines 6805 reviews? i'm going on a search right now, but with a 28k modem it aint happenin fast. thanks for the help guys, and i'm pretty much sold on the emachines as long as there aren't bad reviews