Whats a good graphing calculator?
 

I am required to have a graphing calculator for my upcoming College Algebra class. I have seen quite a few like the TI-83 Plus, which has come very well recommended, but i'm not sure exactly what I need. I'm not great at math, thankfully I only have to go up to Calc 1, but I need something that will do well for business degree in Networking and Telecommunications, as well as just get me through College Algebra and Calc 1.

Anyone had good luck with theirs and want to make a recomendation?

TI-83 Plus is great, been using it since Algebra II in high school, and just completed Calculus II. Although most of my math professors didn't let us us calculators in class, it does come in handy for physics.

I am in my 4th year as an Electrical engineer and I've had to go all the way up to Calc iv. My calculator ti-89 helped out more in my EE classes than it did in calc. You should be ok with a ti83 plus. ti makes great stuff.

i use a TI-83 Plus.
some classes dont let you use higher end calculators than this.
and some classes dont even let you use calculators.

TI's are the best graphing calcs out there. My TI-89 gets me through a LOT. I'd avoid the 92, though. It's the same calc as an 89, but it has a QWERTY keyboard for easier programming. Trouble is I hear most profs have banned it, but have not banned the 89 because they don't realize it's got the same power. It's a stealth 92 basically ;)

If you can swing it, go with an 89, but the 83 would do well as well. Hell an old TI-85 would get you through pretty much anythign you needed.

if you arnt going into upper level calc you will be prefectly fine with an 83... 89s are good sends for people that are doing upper level calc, or EE...

Or who like to play pac-man on their calculators :D

The Ti-83+ is the standard calculator for 7th grade math up til the highest elvel of calculus. It is also the only calculator most teachers allow, as many ban the higher numbered Ti's because of their programming ability.
You cannot go wrong with the Ti-83+.

I had a TI-83+ silver or something like that, pretty much anything made by texas instruments I believe thats 100$+ should be graphing :)

Most all graphing calculators have the same math stuff on em but alot have different features (note pads, games, language translators, etc)

I think most will agree that the ti-83+ will get you through most courses, but the ti-89 has everything anyone could ever need... if i had this calculator in highschool im pretty sure I would have had no problems in any math/calc classes... i never had any teachers who would not allow calculators in highschool. Now college is a different story, so far my calculus 1 - 3 professors do not allow calculators. But like someone said up there, they become very usefull in other classes, and even in trying to understand concepts in calculus.

What no, hp48g? Where's the engineers and RPN people?

For up and including DE's, all I ever really needed was a TI-81 or a Casio whatever (it's crappy and cheap and has a stylus), anything more is a convenience. It's nice to have what everybody else has though, so that they can show you how to use it.

If you are going to do anything with imaginary numbers or X-Y trig, I would avoid an 83 and go with an 86 or 89.

The TI-83s do their imaginary numbers as a power of e, not in the form of x+iy. Also, they are more oriented on radians, where the 86 is more versatile by allowing radians or degrees interchangeably.

This probably won't make a difference if you don't do anything with electronics, but if you do, avoid an 83.

Back in the day, I kicked it with a TI-83, and it served me well. A friend had the TI-89 (or maybe 92?)...that was a sweet little machine.

Then again, I didn't do much with my 83 beyond high school Algebra II and Physics (and tetris...:D ), so YMMV.

I used a TI-86 in highschool, mainly for playing tetris and the like when I was in class.

I still have my older ti 83+ that I used in high school, helped me ALOT in physics..just program all the formulas and damn it was easy street. I always wanted a ti-89, just remember though they really pay off once you learn how to use them. I had alot of people in high school that wasted their money on them cause they didn't get the full potentional out of them.

ti-83+ is awsome.... theres aot of fancy and extreme calculators out there.... but for a general alegbra, it will do you good

my last college math class banned the use of them and made everyone use the scientific calculators, since the graphing ones made it easy to cheat.... in my highschool, teachers would go around reseting your calculators memory sometimes...

Ti 83 calcs are okay, but for differentials, asymptotic studying (I study math in french so im not sure of the exact mathematical terms in english) people are usually better off with a Ti 89..
the Ti 89 titanium is cool...USB connectivity, you can type your notes on the comp and transfer them...real easy.

First, see if there is a list of approved calculators. Second, see if, as it's required, you can get the school to supply you with one (I'm assuming you have a "technology fee" at your college. Find out what you paid for) or give you coupons.

There's TI's Big PDF Comparison Chart for you to look at. Since they seem to be abandoning the 85/86 product line, you might be able to pick one of those up cheap. I have an 86 and have no complaints. If I were going to buy one now, I'd probably get an 84+AgEd or an 89Ti, depending on price.

84 plus silver edition, is really cool.

you should find out what brand the professor is gonna use... and use that so its easier for them to help ya with it if you need...

all my professors were most familiar with the TI calcs...

i have a 49g+, hps new one, i don't really use the RPN because i find the equation writer faster.. works nice on solving huge equations and integrals..

I have a TI-92+ and a 49g+.

For long equations, the HP's will save you loads of time because of the RPN (reverse polish notation). For people that don't like RPN, TI it is.

If you've never used RPN before, you're in for a shock. But don't let it scare you, it's far superior.

Small example:
TI: 2 + 2 enter = 4
HP: 2 enter 2 + = 4

the ti-83 plus is outdated now they just came out with TI-84 get the TI-84 its like the new version of the 83

Maybe I'm just old, but I thought the original TI-84 was the precursor to the TI-85, much like the TI-81-> TI-82->TI-83?

So I guess they're recycling calc names? That's gotta be confusing on ebay.

This is just wrong. The 83 has an option right in the "Mode" menu to display imaginary numbers as a +bi or as re^(theta*i). There is also an option in the same menu to switch between radians and degrees. This is on my TI-83. Not even TI-83+ or TI-84 or TI-84 Silver Edition or TI-84 Yellow Pokemon edition or whatever else they've decided to release.

I remember looking this up a while ago. There has never been a TI-84 before the current one. The TI-85 was the first of its class. And if there was a TI-84, it was so long ago I've never seen one, and all the "new" TI-84 listings on ebay will completely outflood the 1 or 2 people who still have the "old" TI-84 (I'm still not admitting that it exists) and want to sell it.

Okay, I was going off memory. For rectangular numbers, the TI-83 does have an i character and will display numbers in the a+bi format.

But, for polar notation, it really is not very good, and it is difficult to mix the two. On the TI-86, you can do something like (a+bi)+(c"angle"d) with no problems, which is common when calculating impedances and power triangles in electricity. ("angle" being the "less than sign" which UBB wants to display as an html tag.)

When I stated it is more oriented for radians, if you are doing a polar calculation, the input must be in radians, regardless of the mode setting.

Thus, doing a calcuation with (5e^45i) would not be the same as (5e^.785i). The TI-83 would interpret the 45i as 45 radians, regardless of whether you're in degrees or radians.

The answers the TI-83 gives back can be in radians or degrees, depending on mode.

So, after all that, I just tell my students to buy and 85, 86, or 89, not an 83 (or 84 now that they've come out).

Get a Ti-84 Plus Silver Edition. Mine works just fine and graphs tons faster than the 83s (yes you can tell a difference).

Ah ok, I guess it was just the TI-85 to 86 and so-on that I was thinking of. It's been awhile since I cared about a graphing calculator.

If it's speed you're worried about, just overclock it!

TI-89 all the way. I have a Titanium, but it's really no different than the regular (except for the usb port, which is kinda neat, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet). You can even transfer the TI-89 Titanium OS to the regular TI-89 (haven't tried it yet, but I saw that there was that option. So, anyway, TI-89 should be enough for most situations that you will encounter. It's still good to have something without the algebra system for times when you can't use one (my suggestion is a TI-86.

TI-83+ is good for stats too!

The biggest difference between the TI-83+ and the TI-89 is that the 89 will do the actual calculus. You can use the 83+ in calculus, but the 89 can actually figure out the derivatives and integrals.

I also like the TI-89 interface much more than the TI-83's. Even TI-86 has a better interface (refering to that tab at the bottom of the screen), I find it very comfortable to use, since you can still see the screen while you are looking for a certain function. The only thing that I find worse about the TI-89 Titanium is the User's Manual that comes with it. I mean for $150 they could at least put the complete manual in.

BTW does anyone know of a fast way to set up the CUSTOM menu on the TI-89? The only way I know is using Custom and then Title.

I got a lot of use out of my HP-48G, but I have to warn you. You pretty much have to take a class to learn how to use it. For example, if you want to add 1 + 1, you don't just type "1 + 1 =". It works with a stack, so you have to type "1 Enter 1 Enter +"

Jesus Christ that's confusing. So how do you do like more complicated functions, like (((5+3)/8+5/3)/2)^2? Can you somehow type it all in at the same time, or do you have to do them one step at a time?

for algerbra id use a TI-83 for calc I'd get a TI-89

most precalc classes dont let you use a 89, my calc class will not even let you use an 89. personaly i love my 86, but not many people have them so you'd better read the manual and know it because your teacher probubly cant use an 86 either. ive had my 86 for 4-5 years and i love it, one of the best investments. i like the interface, its more logicla to me (nerd/programmer) then the 83, you can use commands anywhere unlike the 83. you can easily do much more with the 86 then the 83 when you know how to use it well. if you dont have time to learn a calculator on your own, get the 83, if you want a better calc that you have to practus to be good with, get the 86.

(ps, just reformated and i dont have word installed yet sorry for the spelling.)

i used the ti83 in algebra
Some advice for your algebra class is that you should actually learn the formulas and such. Most of my mistakes in calculus are stupid algebra mistakes. You can plug all of your formulas in the calculator but sooner or later you'll have to memorize the formulas

I have a HP48GX, replaced my TI81 and have used it since my junior year in high school until now. I've used it for anything up to calc 4, and a bunch of CSci/Math courses for programming. The only complaint I have is that it is kind of slow on graphing and menu refresh.

Though it can get a little difficult to program in RPN, something like you suggest above is relatively simple if you are used to RPN: 5 <enter> 3 + 8 / 5 <enter> 3 / + 2 / 2 ^ (15 keystrokes compared to 19), plus you can see the results at each intermediate step, so you "know" if something is wrong right away. The stack based features are also nice -- it is easy to duplicate an answer for use in mutliple calculations, swap values, keep a running list of answers, etc.

It really isn't that hard, but it is fun to see other people try to use your calculator.

Personally, the TI-89 has served me the best. I started with a TI-82 in highschool (used I believe), which was fine. This was also back at a time when the AP Calc test limited what calculator you could use. I'm not sure if the rules are the same today. However, I lost it beginning of my freshman year at collage. It was probably a good thing in the end. If you are at all considering Engineering (specifically electronic) the TI-89 is a wonderful tool. If you plan to take any kind of advanced math in college, the TI-89 gets my vote.

I haven't used it since I left school (mainly doing CS programming work now, so less of a need for it). But thinking back, I actually do miss it =)

Mark