<p>I'm an entering freshman going into a computer science major and was wondering which calculator would be best to use. In high school we used a TI 83+ and I really liked it. So my question is which would you recommend? Would I be able to get by with a TI-83 or should I get something different and "better."</p>
<p>I was a CS major, I’m now 30 and still use the TI-83 & TI-85 I used back in college (have the 83 in my work desk drawer. They’ll be fine. Do make sure you have a “regular” calculator the the next 4-5 years. Some midterms and finals don’t allow these “fancy” calculators.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about buying a new calculator any time soon. The math department doesn’t allow you to use a calculator at all, it’s hard to believe at first but you get use to it. At least for undergrad, I’m only going into my second year as a CE major I haven’t used my calculator except for homework.</p>
<p>Math classes get to the point that a calculator is somewhat useless…</p>
<p>Well right now I don’t have a calculator, so that’s why I was asking. Are you saying I shouldn’t even buy one? Or should I play it safe and get one just in case?</p>
<p>if you didn’t already have one, I’d just wait until classes start and save the money to see if you need one or are even allowed to use one during tests.</p>
<p>I agree with @Whiteclock, as a CS major math will (eventually) no longer involve just numbers and a calculator just won’t do much.</p>
<p>Here, take a look at this, it’s Math 46 <a href=“http://math.ucr.edu/~jvassil/pms46.pdf[/url]”>http://math.ucr.edu/~jvassil/pms46.pdf</a> and see if a calculator would actually be of any use to you. I think I took this my sophomore year.</p>
<p>There were 1 or 2 Statistics class that were needed for CS, my professor allowed calculators and that was helpful. in the end it all depends.</p>
<p>oh also forgot, it’s not just for Math course, think of Physics too. I had to take the 40 series and basic calculators were allowed</p>
<p>I’d say a TI-89 or similar might be a possibility. But it sounds like it would be a big NOT in class. Wouldn’t know from personal experience - they’d just invented rocks when I was in school. If Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) calculators are not allowed, and you still want the capability, make sure you have a calculator you can use in class, and download Maxima ([Maxima</a>, a Computer Algebra System](<a href=“http://maxima.sourceforge.net/]Maxima”>http://maxima.sourceforge.net/)). Might not be a good idea though. You could get dependent on that sort of thing.</p>
<p>the CAS calculators are gonna hold out on functionality more than regular graphing ones, but sooner or later there really won’t be a substitute for a human brain (or at least one that can do those crazy math problems)</p>
<p>My friend had an 89 and he used it a bit while we were taking Math 10B</p>