Graphing Calculators

[Mofo]

Does anyone know of any good sites that sell graphing calculators? I'm heading off to college this Fall and I am in need of one. Like pc components, I would like to find good deals too.

Please help...Preferrably TexasInstruments TI-83 or better

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The Azn Persuasion

[home skillet]

TI-89 is really useful for calculus work and such, it does a lot more than the the other TI's. TI-86 and 83+ are the best for games.

I dont think there are many online vendors that sell graphing calculators and the ones that do probably dont give you a deep discount. You could try www.staples.com and www.officedepot.com but i would reccomend picking one up at your local staples, office depot, or office max.

you could save money by looking out for coupons. i know staples puts out coupon deals all of the time such as $10 off 100$ or more purchase.

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[Mofo]

I just went to edu.com and looked at the prices for their graphing calculators:

TI83+ $100
TI86 $110
TI89 $140

You say the 83+ and the 86 were good for gaming...but I got my PC for that

Is the TI89 really worth the extra $30-40? I'm entering as a Biological Sciences major and I dunno if I ought to shell out the extra dough...I don't think i'll be taking a lot of the harder/advanced Math courses.

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The Azn Persuasion

[Klashe]

Get an HP. They are more powerful than the TI's and look cooler too.


They take some getting used to, but once you get over that, they are much more effective than the TI's


[This message has been edited by Klashe (edited July 24, 2001).]

[Pinky]

Originally posted by Mofo:
Is the TI89 really worth the extra $30-40? I'm entering as a Biological Sciences major and I dunno if I ought to shell out the extra dough...I don't think i'll be taking a lot of the harder/advanced Math courses.

The 89 does some cool cool stuff (I've got one myself, as well as an older 83). It will do symbollic integration and derivation, which is pretty dang cool. It's got quite a different "file" structure too, as you can keep things in different folders. It will also do 3D graphs. I love my TI-89.



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Embrace this moment. Remember we are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.

[the man] [the real man] [the specs]

Goodbye, OT

[boob]

Well, I don't really know any online sites that have good prices for them, but just as a caution, depending on your classes you may want to wait to get it until class time.

A friend of mine for my math class used a TI-89 while our teacher (and whole school mathematics) uses TI-83+, so alot of things were different.

I personally have a TI-86 and didn't have any problems with it. There were some cases where my friend was not allowed to use his TI-89 for tests because you could "cheat" with them in some ways, which is true (it does alot of work for you in some applications)

heh, I only paid 20 bucks for my TI-86, off of a friend I got Tetris, Pac-Man, Frogger, Space Invaders, and lots of other games on it too

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[al bundy]

Don't get anything else but a TI-89 or a TI-92 Plus. Trust me on this, it's definitely worth the extra $ and you won't find anything that can top them. Many students look at www.usedcalculators.com for good prices...

[Milz]

Originally posted by al bundy:
Don't get anything else but a TI-89 or a TI-92 Plus. Trust me on this, it's definitely worth the extra $ and you won't find anything that can top them. Many students look at www.usedcalculators.com for good prices...

Whatever you do don't buy a TI-92. The only reason I can think of to have one is if you were a math major maybe. The QWERTY style keyboard is a nice idea, but it's too small to really type, and it's illegal for most tests. You certainly don't want to have to borrow someone else's calculator that you're not familar with for finals!

[krazie662]

Yup Yup, you can't use it for SAT, AP's or other tests. Go for the TI89

Originally posted by Milz:
Whatever you do don't buy a TI-92. The only reason I can think of to have one is if you were a math major maybe. The QWERTY style keyboard is a nice idea, but it's too small to really type, and it's illegal for most tests. You certainly don't want to have to borrow someone else's calculator that you're not familar with for finals!

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My Rig

[Mofo]

I'm hearing from a few other people that TI-89 "might" not be allowed for some college Math classes...anyone else run into trouble w/ TI89 conflicting w/ class regulations?

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The Azn Persuasion

[driver]

I would go with an HP. Either the 48G or 49G. They use a stack based interface which, once you get used to, you will find far superior. In addition, they do just about everything that the TIs do. I have the 48GX and have found it invaluable in my college engineering courses. The only real drawback is that most people don't have them, though serious engineers do, so if your looking to get help from others, it may be a little difficult.
http://www.hp.com/calculators/graphing/49g_info.html

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[al bundy]

Just an FYI.

The TI-92 Plus and the TI-89 are identical in their functionality. The only way in which they differ at all is physically - in that the TI-92 'Plus' (which is the current "version" of the older TI-92) simply has a separate dedicated key for each letter of the alphabet, a slightly bigger screen, and costs a bit more for those reasons (it's worth it though).

Both of these TI machines easily allow for alphabetic and numeric input - it's just that the TI-89 requires you to press an "alpha" key first, before a key will display its assigned letter of the alphabet. The additional time it takes to do this is step is negligible - unless you're typing in a small book! So it's really very silly if any institution disallows the TI-92 Plus, but allows the TI-89... LOL!

Either way, if you prefer the smaller form-factor, go with the TI-89 and save the extra bit-o-green. You don't give up any features at all (not even one) when you choose the TI-89 over the TI-92 Plus.

Add the menu-driven interface of the TI-89 and TI-92 Plus, and you have the simplest, most powerful, and most straightforward calculators ever developed for students so far... even (and maybe especially) when compared with HP machines (of which I've also owned many ). You can also upgrade the functions of these TI machines via the internet, using TI's free GraphLink software and a GraphLink cable. Plenty of free software is available for free download from the TI website for these machines.

College teachers disallowing these newer TI machines are very rapidly dying out, as the new textbooks now refer to these machines liberally and the institutions themselves are including teacher-training on these TI's as part of the required professional development programs. These TI machines are the most widely adopted calculator models by college institutions out of all the existing calculators on the market, and by next year should be the standard model for virtually all colleges and universities around the country (already they are at most universities).

Edit: No, TI-89 and TI-92 Plus machines are not only good for math majors! They are extremely useful to students in every level of math instruction, from remedial to the most advanced. Almost all students - regardless of the academic program/path they are on - will need to take some math courses, and will likely be doing some math in their non-mathematics courses as well (that's why they are required to take the math courses in the first place).

I sound like a college mathematics instructor, don't I? Hmmm...

[This message has been edited by al bundy (edited July 25, 2001).]

[Milz]

Originally posted by Mofo:
I'm hearing from a few other people that TI-89 "might" not be allowed for some college Math classes...anyone else run into trouble w/ TI89 conflicting w/ class regulations?

I've never heard of a TI-89 not being allowed where other calculators are. The only grounds I know of for restricting a calculator are a QWERTY keyboard or an IR port, and the ones with an IR are usually allowed if the port is covered with tape. AlBundy is probably right that the 92 is gaining more acceptance, but I would buy an 89 anyway, just to be safe. One huge advantage of an 89 over the 86 or 83 is that it can use mathematical symbols for just about everything, this is particularily useful for calc 1 and 2. It's nice to be able to enter everything the way you see it in the book rather than translating it to TI commands first.

After you learn to do it the long way of course

[This message has been edited by Milz (edited August 12, 2001).]

[boob]

Our school doesn't ban or forbid TI-89 calculators, it just doesn't use those specific ones for classes, which could become a hassle since you would have to do alot of calculations in a different manner. The only time that our teacher would not allow TI-89's or higher was because of specific problems that we were doing, in which the TI-89 and higher would do the whole problem for you very easily, the only reason.

Everyone is right though and I agree with them, things are advancing, and TI-89 would probably last you longer in the long run. I wouldn't doubt our college will switch to those within the 3 more years of college I have left there. It's just that right now, every math course offered in our college is easily handled with the TI-83+, which could save you money, but of course it depends on your college.

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[blk-sabbath-fan]

try ebay.com thats where i got my ti-86 for a good deal and it was new in the package although get one soon because people will be bidding alot more in about a month when classes start up

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