Clarification requested for 'Estimating the Size of a Table' (Estimating the Size of a Heap)

I am currently engaged in determining the estimated size of a table given a potentially high growth rate. I am following the instructions found in the SQL2000 BOL article entitled "Estimating the Size of a Table". I need clarification regarding the instructions specified for item #4, determining the Variable_Data_Size variable. Basically, the table I am using has 25 TEXT fields in it (please don't ask, I didn't design it), and I'm not certain how these play into the Variable_Data_Size calculation. None of these columns will EVER store anywhere near the potential size for the data type. This table has the 'text in row' option enabled, and is set to store up to 256 characters for each text field 'in row'. (On a side note, I think the original designer thought doing this actually set a limit on the size of the text field to 256 chars, but I can't be certain). If it helps you to visualize, here is the table schema:

CREATE TABLE [picaweb].[temp_response] (
[ResponseID] [varchar] (30) NOT NULL ,
[Term] [varchar] (5) NOT NULL ,
[Subject] [varchar] (4) NOT NULL ,
[Course] [varchar] (4) NOT NULL ,
[Sect] [varchar] (3) NOT NULL ,
[MidEndFlag] [varchar] (3) NOT NULL ,
[SID] [varchar] (9) NOT NULL ,
[TemplateID] [varchar] (30) NOT NULL ,
[LastModified] [datetime] NULL ,
[College] [varchar] (30) NULL ,
[Classification] [varchar] (10) NULL ,
[CourseRequired] [varchar] (3) NULL ,
[ExpectedGrade] [varchar] (10) NULL ,
[Sex] [varchar] (6) NULL ,
[ItemAnswer1] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments1] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer2] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments2] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer3] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments3] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer4] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments4] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer5] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments5] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer6] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments6] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer7] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments7] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer8] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments8] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer9] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments9] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer10] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments10] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer11] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments11] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer12] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments12] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer13] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments13] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer14] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments14] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer15] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments15] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer16] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments16] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer17] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments17] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer18] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments18] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer19] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments19] [text] NULL ,
[ItemAnswer20] [varchar] (1) NULL ,
[ItemComments20] [text] NULL ,
[EssayQuestionAnswer1] [text] NULL ,
[EssayQuestionAnswer2] [text] NULL ,
[EssayQuestionAnswer3] [text] NULL ,
[EssayQuestionAnswer4] [text] NULL ,
[EssayQuestionAnswer5] [text] NULL
) ON [PRIMARY] TEXTIMAGE_ON [PRIMARY]
GO

I would appreciate any insight anyone might be able to provide. My calculations were wrong somewhere, and I believe it was on the Variable_Data_Size variable determination.

Best,
B.

Have you checked in the 2K5 version of Books Online? I'm not sure if it was updated...

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187445.aspx

|||Yes, it's pretty much the same as for 2000. Now that I've really thought about it, I suppose the size of the data to be stored "in row" should be treated like a fixed-length field, especially since it will reduce row density per page. I think that's what I'll do.

Question answered.

Best,
B.