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Ok, since the TI83 came out years ago, have there been new designs that are superior to it? I do not have any knowledge into what models are better or not and I wouldn't mind having my own. I either keep borrowing from my friends or from my brother and since I lost one of them already, he won't let me have the other ones he has to take with me.

So, is the TI83 still the workhorse of today or is there something better out there?

TI-83's pretty useful for most tasks you'll need, while being simple to use. That's good enough for probably 95+ percent of graphic calculator users out there. It's not really a matter of 'superiority' like with computers... just a matter of what features you need and what you don't need.

the Ti83+ is still pretty much the workhorse.

TI does have some more powerful products though:
Ti83 Silver - basically an 83+ with increased memory and a slightly higher res
Ti89 - Much more functionality, sharper res, costs about $20 more.
Ti89 Titanium - to 89 what the Silver is to the 83+.
Ti92 - Basically a Ti89 with a qwerty keyboard and one more high-level math functionality.

TI-83 Plus is pretty standard, now, but there are better graphing calculators like the TI-89, which (I believe) allows you to find things like the general solutions of systems of differential equations. It also lets you graph things in three dimensions.

The TI-89 and TI-92 have a whole computer algebra system built in. This can be helpful from time to time, and it's certainly a giant leap in functionality from the TI-83.

Thanks, I notice the 89's interface seems to be a bit different from th pictures I've seen... I'll be browsing eBay for a TI-89.

Soontir C'boath wrote:Thanks, I notice the 89's interface seems to be a bit different from th pictures I've seen... I'll be browsing eBay for a TI-89.

89/92 are more sophisticated, with a more complex tab-based interface. They are also handy for differentials work, so if you need a boost up from an 83, that's what you'd use.

Soontir C'boath wrote:Thanks, I notice the 89's interface seems to be a bit different from th pictures I've seen... I'll be browsing eBay for a TI-89.

Nothing wrong with the TI-83, or the TI-83 Plus. The TI-89 is pretty slick, though, has just about everything short of the proverbial kitchen sink and comes in the same general form-factor. The TI-92 is a gross overkill and awkwardly sized for a calculator. I have a TI-89, and the only thing I didn't like about it is that it lacks the plastic LCD cover that the TI-83 has. This is, however, a trivial concern, and I solved my problem with a spot of measuring, a pair of scissors and some superglue.

HP48 [/RPN fanboy]

I fully recommend TI-89. it got me through High School and College calculus.

Beowulf wrote:HP48 [/RPN fanboy]

I knew one of you RPN whackaloons would turn up sooner or later to mess up a perfectly good TI thread with HP spam.

And I regret not taking the opportunity to steal your thunder.

I used a TI-83 in high school and later got myself a TI-89 (89 is not allowed in the finals in high school over here, meaning that the TI-83 is the best you can get*). I found the 89 to be vastly superior when compared to the 83, it's even easier to use.

* At least this was true when I wen't to high school in late nineties, might have changed since.

I picked up a Second Gen Ti-82 in 9th grade and I still use it today. The layout and functionality that started with the Ti-81 is what they are still using for the Ti-83 series.

Isnt the TI 84 a beefed up TI 83?
But more curvy....


Anyway, I have a TI 83 silver and it got me through high school calc and is pretty useful for college calc....Like most poeple here are saying, a TI 83 is pretty much all most people need.

The TI85 was the standard when I started university 7 years ago, has a few more functions than the 83 but otherwise not that different. But that's not important. The important part is that you can play Tetris and Super Mario Brothers on it. That feature saved my sanity in so many classes.

If your going to be taking science classes, the 89 is a lot more useful just because it has a built-in listing of constants, units, and conversion factors.

If you want you can have my TI-55-II. Much older than yours but it works.

Nevermind, my calc isn't a graphics calculator.

aerius wrote:The TI85 was the standard when I started university 7 years ago, has a few more functions than the 83 but otherwise not that different. But that's not important. The important part is that you can play Tetris and Super Mario Brothers on it. That feature saved my sanity in so many classes.

Dude, Duck Hunt is where its at. And the graphing calc version doesn't even have that asshole dog taunting you the whole time!

Damn dog....

tumbletom wrote:Dude, Duck Hunt is where its at. And the graphing calc version doesn't even have that asshole dog taunting you the whole time!

How can you play Duck Hunt properly without the gun?

Damn dog....

Yes, the game would be awesome if it let you shoot the dog. I've tried, many times.

Whatever calculator you get, I highly don't recommend you getting a TI-86. The interface it uses for commands (those little buttons on the bottom) is so confusing, that you'll end up wishing you got some other calculator instead.

In my opinion, if you are looking for an upgrade from a TI 82/83, go for the 89. I find that the best feature of it is that it will display exact values, i.e. radical 2 instead of a decimal, pi/4 instead of 0.7853975 (very handy if trig is not your forte). However, if you just need a calc with graphing etc, go with the 83 or 84. The 83 is nice, but the 84 graphs about three times faster, which is always nice if you have several equations going at once.

BloodAngel wrote:Whatever calculator you get, I highly don't recommend you getting a TI-86. The interface it uses for commands (those little buttons on the bottom) is so confusing, that you'll end up wishing you got some other calculator instead.

The 86 is an upgraded 85 (better screen and more memory) -- if you can use one, you can use the other. The 85 was the standard we used in AP Physics back in high school, so the shift to the 86 was fairly easy for me.

That said, however, the 89 does quite a bit more than the 86 for only a small increase in price, so I'd recommend that instead if upgrading from an 83.

The HP49G+ is probably the best of the graphing calculators on the market but there will be a learning curve. You don't have to use RPN, but the user interface is different than the TI style.

The TI-89 is the best of the TI calculators. I have an original one and it has served me well.

That said, the HP49, TI-89 and TI-92/Voyage series are banned on some tests and classes because of their power. The TI-86 is typically used in calculus-level courses but if you don't need that you probably get use the TI-84 - which is an upgraded TI-83, really.

Since your in Queen's, definately the Ti-89. I call it the cheat calc because it basically does SATII Math IIC for you, giving you an easy 800. It's biggest danger is overuse and abuse - I know people who used their calcs to ace all sorts of exams and when NYU took away their calculators began to fail courses they should already know - e.g. People who scored 4 or 5 on Calc AB failing university Calc I.

I've always had a Ti-84SE, and I haven't used any additonal functionality over the Ti-83, but NYU doesn't let you use calculators on most introductory math coures anyways....

phongn wrote:That said, the HP49, TI-89 and TI-92/Voyage series are banned on some tests and classes because of their power. The TI-86 is typically used in calculus-level courses but if you don't need that you probably get use the TI-84 - which is an upgraded TI-83, really.

From what I've seen, the -92 is most commonly banned, probably due to the keyboard.

Aren't the 89 and 92 basically equivalent?