Which Calculator is Best for High School and Beyond?

[DoggerDan]

The problem is, I don't know if they're allowed on standardized tests, and some classes disallow them.

That might be step 1, to find out which ones are allowed. Then I'd try them all at Office Max/Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, or wherever you can find them.

Also, what's your major? Just saying "calculus" includes many fields of study, some of which have different requirements than others.

 

[dillonjerry]

In my opinion, the TI-89 is the best calculator ever made. Very much worth the price, and it can do anything you will ever need to do in terms of math. A wise choice.

 

[EmoPopsicle]

I find that the TI-89 is the most powerful "TI" out there, but I may be wrong. It is a bit hard to use at first, though. And it is also allowed on the SAT.

 

[stevemilw]

I have the Ti-NSPIRE, very expensive, has a colour visual screen with a touch pad.
Will do absolutely everything and anything you tell it to do. Its just whether or not you can justify spending that amount on a calculator.
When you look at it, its only 30 or 40 quid more than your standard ti-86.
So, if you want the latest, that's never going to go out of date in like 40 years get the NSPIRE. It can be plugged into the computer and downloaded too other softare etc.
Very hand.
But for me anyway, in my second year og mechancial engineering, IT WAS NOT WORTH THE MONEy. because you do not need to graph functions etc, you just need to work with them. i think this would be brilliant however for students studying maths at a level, or degree.

 

[drendout]

I have a large collection of TI calculators: TI-83, TI-84(Silver), TI-89(Titanium), TI-nSPIRE CAS, TI-nSPIRE CX CAS.

The first thing I have to say is that the new nSPIRE CX and nSPIRE CX CAS are amazing calculators; they'll do everything you ever need in a handheld calculator.

The question is: "will you be allowed to use them?" Different schools and different tests have limits on what calculators you can use and some of them haven't updated their policies to address the nSPIRE CX line.

I've been able to use my TI-89(Titanium) and TI-nSPIRE(s) from Calculus I (when I purchased the 89 for it's CAS capabilities) through my upper level Math and EE classes.

I don't understand policies that limit calculator use at school... Do you really want the engineer on your project doing his math by hand? (Or trying to use a calculator/software for the first time since he didn't learn how to use them in school!)

No matter what calculator you get now, eventually you'll have to move on to MATLAB or some other software package to solve problems.

One other caveat, most of the textbooks are still written for the TI-83/84, so if you get a different calculator that isn't preferred by the school, you'll be teaching yourself how to use it. (My Engineering department recommends the HP-50, so I've been on my own to translate operations onto the nSPIRE--fortunately the function names are similar, even if the keypresses are very different!).

 

[zgozvrm]

I've never been a fan of Ti scientific calculators. I was in grade school when personal calculators first came out and Ti was pretty much the only choice at that time. Also, I don't generally care for graphing calculators - I have rarely found a need for them, so I find them to be unnecessarily larger and pricier. I prefer HP and Sharp calculators. I have an old HP 32SII that I love, but my wife recently "stole" it from me. For a less expensive calculator, I've always preferred Sharp over Ti mainly due to the keyboard layout. I generally find that I like the way Sharp lays things out, better than the way Ti does. I'm currently using an EL-520W which I've come to like even more than my HP. The only problem is that it's not programmable, per se. It does allow you to enter up to 4 custom functions which is helpful. And, it has 8 memory registers, in addition to the standard "M" memory (that utilizes the M+ & M- keys). It even does simple integrations and derivatives.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I used the TI-83 in high school. Played more games with it than calculations :D