<p>I spent senior year (taking BC calc) using a TI-89 provided by my high school. I'll be buying a graphing calculator for college and I'm going into EE, so I was wondering if I could get some recommendations as to what would be a good brand/model for an engineering major.</p>
<p>I have heard that some professors might not allow a TI-89. None of mine have ever mentioned it. If you’re worried about that, you cannot go wrong with a TI-84. I use a TI-84. It’s simple but it should do everything you need it to.</p>
<p>I bought my first real calc this summer for algebra, the TI-84 Silver. It was what my school’s math department requires for all the classes I’ll be taking through calc anyway.</p>
<p>See what your next class requires, and buy it then. People swear by the 89, people say you never need more than a scientific, people swear by the 84, people say TI is garbage and to get HPs or Casios, etc. All I know is that my professor wanted us to have the 84, and it did what it was supposed to.</p>
<p>That’s interesting that you say some professors might not allow a TI-89; I actually have a TI-84 but didn’t use it because my teacher made us use TI-89s for a lot of the Calc II material (series, etc) that we learned. So I assumed I’d need something as powerful as that, if not more so.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone needing anything more than an 84, and an 89 is fine too. I know some people who bought the Inspire, but most of them actually preferred the 84/89 because it was too complex. Unless you take a specific course where the professor requires a certain model, you’ll probably be fine for all 4 years.</p>
<p>Some classes don’t even use a graphing calculator. I know that both my linear algebra and multivariable classes stated that graphing calculators are neither required nor allowed (the latter for tests).</p>
<p>I have both a TI-89 and a TI-84, and it’s been a pretty solid combo. You need an 84 for statistics and hater professors, and the 89 is nice for the CAS.</p>
<p>(Sorry to ask, but what is “CAS”?)</p>
<p>Computer algebra system. Basically the calculator can solve in terms of variables and exact values for square roots and the like.</p>
<p>That sounds awesome, thanks.</p>
<p>Yeah, it starts to become really useful in DiffEqs and Linear Algebra.</p>
<p>I feel like you’re usually not going to be able to use an 89 on the tests or quizzes, and if you want an algebraic system in class or while you’re doing work or just for curiosity’s sake, you could just whip out your phone/laptop and go onto wolframalpha for those. For general purpose calculations, 84’s almost always sufficient. Hell, it even makes solving systems of equations a piece of pie. I’ve sworn by mine for the past 8 years and it has rarely failed me, unlike my boat</p>
<p>just get a regular scientific calculator. on tests if a graph is needed it is usually given. and if you need a graph during homework you can just use matlab or wolframalpha</p>
<p>I personally have the HP50G. I have had it for 2 years now; I am loving it. RPM is just fantastic; it just feels “natural”.</p>
<p>There’s no reason whatsoever to buy an 89 when you can buy the new ti which is essentially an 89, with color, touchpad, 3d graphing, etc. And it’s cheaper. Ti Nspire CAS CX. Plus no annoying batteries; it charges like an iPhone. </p>
<p>It would be like buying an old Xbox when you could buy an Xbox 360 for a simple analogy, except the 360 here is cheaper.</p>
<p>@marcdvl,</p>
<p>It looks like the major thing the 89 holds over the Nspire CAS CX is that the Nspire CAS CX doesn’t do 3d graphing?</p>
<p>My highest level of math so far is algebra, so I don’t really know what this means. Is this something that people would miss?</p>
<p>I’m going to offer a contrary viewpoint: you don’t need a graphing calculator at all. Many courses will either restrict allowed calculators or make the problems computationally simple. In my opinion, sophisticated graphing calculators can actually hurt you in some courses because they reinforce lazy behavior.</p>
<p>When you actually need more power, MATLAB or other computer software will likely be the tool of choice.</p>
<p>I just use my ~$10 GED scientific calculator.</p>
<p>Noimagination has a point. Why even bother with tools that are helpful? You can just put more work in to get an inferior result.
Forget MATLAB, honestly. Just make programs in assembly because using MATLAB reinforces lazy behavior.</p>
<p>“I just use my ~$10 GED scientific calculator.”</p>
<p>The fx-260? That calculator got me through some sad and frustrated GED study sessions. </p>
<p>DROPOUTS UNITE! </p>
<p>As to the meat of that, my algebra professor made sure we knew how to do most things with or without. It’s good to know how to do stuff by hand, but it’s also good to know how to use all the tools around you to best solve a problem.</p>
<p>@NeoDymium. For many math classes, calculators are not even allowed on tests. For homework, you can just use wolframalpha, which is significantly more powerful and easier to use than graphing calculators.</p>