I know we have a lot of learned people here, so after some advice really..

After quite a lot of gap years I am off to uni in Sept..

Doing Civil engineering. On the joining instructions it says that I will require a scientific graphical calculator.

They recomend the Texas instruments TI-83.

The tI-83 was released in 1999 and is therefore "old tech"...

My question is, should I go for the latest TI graphical calc, or go for one of the older more "basic" ones?

I know the new ones have higher resolution greyscale screens, more memory etc... the top of the range one can even do quadratics and 3D graphs...

If I am going to invest in tech I want it to be futureproof.... but I also realise that there is no point in having a sledgehammer when all I want to do is crack a nut...

Can anyone recomend what to get?

[Edited on 13/8/10 by tegwin]

I'd go for the basic one myself - it'll take ages to learn how to use the fancy stuff (you can always use mathcad on the PC for complex stuff outside of the exams)



things must have changed a bit since I was at uni (99 - 03) we were recommended a basic casio scientific one and even then we couldn't take our own ones into the exams (they provided a recommeded one at each desk)

infact 7 years of structural design later and I still only use a basic casio
and at £7 you can't beat them, FX-85 should be about right (you could even get one aswell as graphic one)




[Edited on 13/8/2010 by mcerd1]

[Edited on 13/8/2010 by mcerd1]

Me too. The most basic ones are still functional and future proof.

It doesnt mention on the paperwork if they will be "exam proof"... I suspect not...

Who knows... hmm...

I recently went back and took Calculus 2 and my ti-82 from 1997 was still able to handle anything I threw at it. I would guess that the ti-83 would be ample for what you need.

Beags