Calculator for physics studies?

Hi!
I'm thinking of buying a calculator for my upcoming physics studies. First of all: do I really need one? Or will I just be using my head, pen and paper for counting etc.?
I'm really fond of the HP 50g, though I'm not sure if it's worth buying for my future courses..

I'm not a physics major, but I have taken physics classes.  You might not need one, but you'll probably be sorry if you don't have one. You're putting yourself at a disadvantage if you're doing things on paper that others are doing on their calculators. Even if they make you work out all the problems on paper and show your work, you can check your answers with a calc.

I haven't used it myself, but the HP 50g seems to be as good if not better than anything TI sells in terms of functionality, and cheaper if you buy it on Amazon. From the pictures I've seen, though, the display and UI might not be as nice as the TI89. I'd recomment trying them both out if you can before buying either one.

If you're serious about real physics, then handheld calculators will probably be insufficient eventually.  They can be handy when you're far from a computer, but in the end, they can't replace mathematica.

I typically brute force most things by hand, and check things with mathematica.