BEST and WORST Graphing Calculators: Back to School 2024 Guide

[@danielr.kennedy6992]

As a retired HS physics and math teacher who is also a TI T^3 instructor, I have to push back against rating the 84 CE over either Nspire. Just because teachers are dinosaurs and stuck in their 84 brains is not a good reason to hold students back! In my trainings I often compared the 84 vs Nspire battle to Windows vs Mac or Blackberry vs iPhone. The Nspire is so much more intuitive than the 84. Teachers who insist on the 84 are like monks or priests of old who could use the “magic words” (syntax on the 84) to keep control over the masses. True, the 84 CE now has more menu options, a color and a less pixelated screen, all thanks to the Nspire, but it still doesn’t come close to the ability for students to manipulate their work and learn through discovery. A geometry teacher who chooses to use an 84 over an Nspire is in need of a one-day training with someone like me. Form the student perspective, the fact that an Nspire is programmed to work much like a PC with regard to things like ctrl-c, ctrl-v, ctrl-z, ctrl-y…. Or how the spreadsheet works much like Excel, puts the Nspire head and shoulders above an 84. As a teacher, I was able to couple my Nspires with the TI Navigator and all of my classes, physics through APCalc, were paperless. I could capture my students’ screens in real time and share student work. We could use all kinds of probes to explore real-world problems: temperature probes for exponential decay, motion sensors to bring to life periodic functions and answer questions like “Why do we learn trig?” I could go on and on. My Nspires were so important to me that when I had a new school headhunt me, a class set of Nspires with Navigator were part of the deal since the set I was using had to stay with the school that I left!

[@thurstonrider]

Casio is the Pioneer of graphing calculators. TI may have the third party support, textbook dedication, and higher quality casings, but Casio has the processor power. I switched to Casio in the 1990s from TI scientific to my first graphing calculator--9850CG, (first color graphic and non backlit with only three colors). I currently have the 9860gII (similar to TI-84 plus and 9750g (i-iii) and will not give it up. Planning on getting either the cg500 or maybe the CG50 as an upgrade to the 9860gII. TI, Casio, HP, and Sharp all make very good calculators, Casio is my go to.

[@UseVisine]

If you plan to get the cg50, get it soon. It'll be discontinued once the cg100 get's released next year (allegedly) and prices are sure to go up.

[@thurstonrider]

@UseVisine Just got the CG50! Thanks for the heads up!

[@CappucChinoYT]

Cas caculators are allowed on the SAT (not ACT) and if I'm being honest, the more time you can save doing tedious algebra, the better. Seconds are minutes, and minutes become hours when taking the SAT. If you don't need the feature, just turn it off.

[@KermMartian]

I agree that having a CAS calculator on the SAT isn't necessarily *bad*, but none of the SAT math questions need a CAS to answer, and if I'm honest even a graphing calculator is slightly overkill for the test. The three biggest reasons to get a non-CAS calculator are (1) you need to take the ACT test, (2) your teacher doesn't allow a CAS on tests (this is usually the biggest one), or (3) you want a simpler calculator, and you'll personally be more successful with a calculator with fewer bells and whistles.

[@CappucChinoYT]

@@KermMartian Good point! Less gimbal jambel, the better!

[@samconnelly7630]

I would highly recommend buying any of these calculators used off of somewhere like Ebay. Most of the time, you can find these calculators for less than $100. Out of all of the calculators I bought, the most expensive one was a TI-Nspire CX II CAS for $100. Also, I would recommend buying rechargable AAA batteries if your calculator runs off of them.

[@KermMartian]

@@samconnelly7630 great suggestions all around! Thrift stores/charity shops like Goodwill are also good resources, including their online presences. You can generally get the older black-and-white screen calculators for $20-$50.

[@jurgenkruger3932]

I shoot a CG-50 on eBay for just 10 Euro plus postage, between Christmas and New Year. It's like new. 😂😂😂 I believe it was a Christmas gift but unwanted. My daughter loves it. 😊😊

[@KermMartian]

@@jurgenkruger3932 Wow, that's an amazing price! Congrats.

[@JoseDiaz-er4ww]

@@samconnelly7630 I remember when pandemic was beginning, I went to the Deseret Store, and saw 2 calculators: one Casio 9750 g Plus and other TI 84 Silver Plus Edition, both for less than 25 dlls! Immediately I called a friend to come and get them, but when she asked for them, as long as 25 minutes after I called her, both calculators, suddenly disappeared from the desk!!! I always asked me why I didn't buy it for me and that makes me feel like a dumb.

[@winicu]

You can overclock Casio CG-50 and 9860 Series up to 4 times the original clock is.

[@Marqui91]

Ti 36x pro is criminally underrated and honestly, all you need in school. Also, many engineering programs, from my experience, don't allow the Nspire.

[@spoon2986]

We are actually obliged to use the nspire cas in my engineering college

[@pcuimac]

The Numworks calculator is even better than any of the calcs presented here. And who needs symbolic CAS systems? Only somebody who can't differentiate or integrate. it's better to do symbolic algebra on a sheet of paper and use the results for numeric calculations. Or use Mathematica!

[@nedmurry]

Something else to consider is operation speed. The Casio fx-cg50 is consistently faster than the ti-84 (for things like big/complex graphs and definite integrals/summations). The cg50 also has micro python and a respectable library of 1st and 3rd party apps and programs.

[@zaporoshti3392]

it also has KhiCAS.

[@DerekDavis213]

HP Prime has light grey keys with 2nd and 3rd function labels that are hard to see. That could be a deal breaker for many people.

[@dscott1524]

Another suggestion to consider: I have used a TI-89 for over 20 years and it has never let me down. It does have a simple CAS, but its main strength is it's easy to use, has an excellent programming capability, and really does everything one needs and additionally are available used for peanuts. Cheers.

[@KermMartian]

The TI-89 is an amazing calculator, and I'd love to recommend it as my CAS calculator of choice. Unfortunately, because this guide is designed with teachers' preferences in mind as well, I doubt a teacher would be pleased with a student using a TI-89 in an otherwise (e.g.) TI-Nspire-filled classroom.

[@zweiwing4435]

Why Numworks N0120 Calculator is not on the list?

[@PabloArduz]

The Best no CAS calculator is the Casio Prizm cg-50, the apps are so much better than TI-84......even you can out a Full CAS system if you want

[@KermMartian]

@@PabloArduz yes! I should make a video about all the CAS options, as they are many. The Prizm is one of my favorite programming calculators.

[@PabloArduz]

@@KermMartian you forgot The Casio Classpad 2.....is a good calculator Very didactic, but the forced use of a resistive screen is frustrating, but the best option to learn CAS

[@PabloArduz]

@@KermMartian a comparative between khiCAS, Pineapple, the eigenmath port by jeuxcasio will be great

[@zaporoshti3392]

You can install KhiCAS on CG-50 and make it have all CAS functionality. For a CAS calculator HP Prime G2 just has the best performance and is on another league.

[@h1a8]

The numworks is the best. Far better than the Prizm. I have the all

[@saujanyapoudel8910]

7:17 Why we making big deal for a calculator that just works differently. This is not the 90s when you needed either a book or an expert dude to know things. There is an entire channel dedicated to tutorials on Casio calculators. PLUS just taking your time to read through the manual will give you enough information to get started.

[@KermMartian]

I agree that most bright students will have little to no difficulty adapting to a calculator that works differently than their peers'. My experience is that some teachers, however, are more set in their ways and are hesitant to accept a calculator different than what they're familiar with into their classrooms.

[@StanleytheCat-v8z]

​@@KermMartianI'd like to see they're reaction to an OG HP 35 lol.

[@piisfun]

I'll just stick with my 12-year old TI-89 Titanium and backup TI-30 XS Multiview.

[@dylan.8801]

fx-9750giii is by far the best. Costs $45-50, is faster than the others, has better UI, and more features. I don't get the focus on the expensive color models when this is a better product at a cheaper price.

[@PirateCaptainOz]

I was massively disappointed going into calc 2 when I bought a TI-84 Plus CE Python for use in the class and came to find out it lacks an exact math engine. That's especially considering that my much cheaper 36X Pro does have one, which led to me using it to check my math from the TI-84 if it seemed like the 84 was rounding something. For how much it costs, it should not be too much to ask to get simplified radicals and radians in terms of pi. I just ordered a CG50 as a replacement for it so i can do my graphing and math on a single device

[@AnotherGenericChannel]

I like being able to swap batteries in the fx-CG50. Rechargeable Li-ion, I can always steal the ones out of my fx-CG500 if I need backups. Failing that I always have a Casio fx-260 SOLAR in my pocket. The HP Prime is great, definitely going to want to know how to use the Casio and HP calculators if that is what you are going with, a lot less people are proficient with them. My High School only used Casio FX calculators, no personal calculators allowed during math unless it was a Casio FX series. Using a 1996 Casio fx-260 in High School amused and aggravated my teacher a lot. Mostly because he knew I collected calculators.

[@heybuddy3097]

Casio Calculators are better in my opinion as an electrical/computer engineering student because we can enter phasors in the calculator while the ti-84 cannot

[@MrWaalkman]

Amazon has the cheapest HP Prime that I have found (a bit less than $130 USD), and you definitely want the 2AP18AA and not the G8X92AA. The 2AP18AA is the "G2" version with "#ABA" indicating that it is the North American version (if it doesn't have the "#ABA", but something else, then it's the European version. Not that there is any appreciable difference between the two). The G8X92AA is the "G1" version, which is no slouch, but the "G2" version has a much faster CPU.

[@criticaldamage2933]

My teacher asked us to get the casio prizm but my dad got me the TI-84 plus ce and after watching this im happy he did

[@TheRTM]

why can’t you use the Prime (or any CAS) on the SAT?

[@h1a8]

The numworks calculator is better than all non Cas calculators. I'm shocked that you didn't test or talk about it here?

[@KermMartian]

As I mentioned to the user who (rightfully) praised the TI-89 and wondered why it wasn't rated more highly in this list, I unfortunately composed it to take into account teachers' preferences for their classrooms. I haven't run into too many teachers who would be comfortable integrating a student with a Numworks calculator into an otherwise TI-84 Plus-filled (e.g.) class. But if i was instead making a video about the best graphing calculator, period, the Numworks calculator would certainly be on that list.

[@h1a8]

@ What makes the numworks the best? You don't need to be taught how to use it. TI calculators have a much larger learning curve. On my first time using the Numworks I was able to do many many things instantly. It is a graphing calculator for dinosaurs.

[@shadowpapito]

Thank you

[@KermMartian]

You're welcome! Let me know if you have any questions.

[@PabloArduz]

For me a good QPiRac implementation is the most important characteristic on a calculator, and this is why is the mean reason that I can not recommend the TI-84+ family

[@TheMagicFellow]

Casio CG50 IS KING!!

[@KermMartian]

What do you like about it?

[@surveyminghing5994]

I want to say. HP Prime have the lastest version of Hardware D. The early versions are not the fastest.

[@KermMartian]

Absolutely true, but even my engineering sample of the original Prime shown here is blazingly fast compared to, for example, the TI-84 Plus family.

[@typicaljujunon8142]

What calc should I get, I’m majoring in aerospace engineering

[@KermMartian]

I'd actually recommend a TI-89 Titanium, as it's reliable, fast, and has a CAS. Failing that, a TI-Nspire CX II CAS is fine, even if I'm not personally a fan of the interface.

[@cardboard952]

i own an 89 titanium and recently upgraded to the HP Prime. i am only in ap precalc right now so its a bit overkill but the benefit of the full color hd touchscreen and a processer over 40 times faster makes it a much better choice. it also has amazing build quality. they cost 130 so they are on the expensive side but its super worth it. if you don't believe me just look up a video of its 3d graphing capabilities.

[@danielr.kennedy6992]

The Nspire community is global and huge. Anything you want a tutorial on can be found on KZbin or the TI site. So, as someone who works with TI and is retired from teaching, I encourage the Nspire CX II CAS. It comes with a tutorial program preloaded and you’ll be able to “drive” it effortlessly in no time. If you ever make a mistake with key entry you can back up as many steps as you need using ctrl z or ctrl esc (pressed sequentially not simultaneously), that way you’re less afraid to make a mistake.

[@dylan.8801]

The fx-9750giii. Full stop. It's only $50 and it is faster, has better UI, and more features than the TI ones. If you need CAS, you can add software for that (xcas) or use a computer. It even runs micropython.

[@TestHandlePleaseIgnore]

The HP Prime should last you through college and well into your career.

[@JiffyDealer]

lol, thanks for the TLDR, 👍

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

These calculators are too expensive. I'm sure there's a clever fellow who can build one with a raspberry pi. A high school calculator shouldn't cost over 100 dollars, or even 20.

[@dylan.8801]

That's because he's focusing on the needlessly expensive color ones. The fx-9750giii is $50 and outclasses all the TI ones in speed, features, and ease of use.

[@Civi_ts]

​@@dylan.8801interesting

[@samconnelly7630]

first

[@Atom224]

If you really need CAS functionality then just use your smartphone.

[@KermMartian]

@@Atom224 if you're out in the world, absolutely. Unfortunately, exams (e.g in engineering college classes) where you're allowed a CAS calculator, you're usually not allowed a phone!

[@Atom224]

@@KermMartian Weird, at my uni we are not allowed to use any kind graphing calculators, CAS or not, and I study EE which is very math-heavy.

[@KermMartian]

@@Atom224 Interesting! I also studied EE, and we were allowed CAS calculators on our engineering exams, although not our math exams. We could use non-CAS graphing calculators in science classes.

[@NickWindham]

@@Atom224that’s bizarre. Especially in the age of AI you’ll graduate in. They should be teaching you to leverage technology as much as possible these days. Those that can’t to the fullest will get replaced by those that can’t. That said, I get they want you to memorize the material so you could be the guy that corrects the AI when it hallucinates.