TI-89 Calculator vs. TI-84 Calculator

Hey everyone,

As of right now I am a freshman in high school moving on to sophomore. Next year, I am going to take Honors Alg. 2/Trig, then Pre-Calculus, and finally Calculus BC. Which calculator do you recommend I buy? Both of my friends have TI-84 calculators, which their brothers used in high school and got them through. If it is any help, I also plan on taking Physics, too. Which calculator is right for me?

I think the TI-89 is a bit too advanced for your needs. I took all of the courses mentioned above and got through just fine with a TI-83 silver edition.

the onyl diffrence between them is the 89 is much much faster which comes in handy in calc when u calculate integrals and limits because it is very fast at calculating. other than that there is no diffrence besides price. i would jsut go with the TI 84 it gets the job done. i have both i prefer the 84 because im so used to the buttons on it.

I bought an 89 in high school for a pre-calc class, but when I tried to use it in college I had to go buy an 84. I've been to three colleges and all of them required the 84. The 84 is the easiest to work with, but the 89 is cooler is you want to load games... ;)

i use the T-89 silver in high school and it works great with everything, but i havnt figured out everything it can do yet...but it does play games which suck unless your bored

its simple math. 89>84. u need 2 take chemistry into effect also.... titanium>silver. therefore 89 titanium > 84 silver. god u people sometimes...

[quotebb82586ca1="ibtheib"]its simple math. 89>84. u need 2 take chemistry into effect also.... titanium>silver. therefore 89 titanium > 84 silver. god u people sometimes...[/quotebb82586ca1] roll

Yeah some schools have restrictions against the 89.

Am I the only one here who thinks that it is strange that a freshmen in high school has 88 TR?

[quote7237deb024="nate08"]Am I the only one here who thinks that it is strange that a freshmen in high school has 88 TR?[/quote7237deb024]

A Grade A site at A4F is owned by a senior in high school, whats your point?

Don't get the 89, its wonderful, but you'll become too dependent on it to do all of the work for yourself.

i think nate is trying to say that daggoth isnt supposed 2 be signing up for most offers if hes under 18.

Its actually my dad signing up, I am just making the trades.

[quote3a4172c27f="mrwzk"]the onyl diffrence between them is the 89 is much much faster which comes in handy in calc when u calculate integrals and limits because it is very fast at calculating. other than that there is no diffrence besides price. i would jsut go with the TI 84 it gets the job done. i have both i prefer the 84 because im so used to the buttons on it.[/quote3a4172c27f]

that's just not true at all. 83/84 can't graph in three dimensions and the 89 can. there are tons of differences.

if you're really a speed freak just overclock an 83 or 83+. dont waste money on an 84, its just a prettier packaged 83.

I am just worried that the TI-89 might be too complicated for me. How hard is a TI-89 to use?

[quote82793e686e="Daggoth"]I am just worried that the TI-89 might be too complicated for me. How hard is a TI-89 to use?[/quote82793e686e]No, it takes like a half hour of reading and you're good

I know I got an 86 freshman year of college than 1 year later I found out I wasted my money because I needed an 89.

if you are going to be doing a lot of undergrad math, physics or engineering, i highly reccomend an 89. It can work with imaginary numbers, and graph all sorts of things you couldn't imagine.

any class i've had either let me use a calcualter or didn't. they never had specific regulations about which one I could use.

those were generally math classes, which oddly enough I hardly used it for

i would die without 89, but I do engineering; i got my brother to get it for exactly the same purposes as you, and it was awful. He sold it on ebay and went with the 84. Save yourself the trouble and get the 84.

[quoted37030348e="justinag06"]I know I got an 86 freshman year of college than 1 year later I found out I wasted my money because I needed an 89.

if you are going to be doing a lot of undergrad math, physics or engineering, i highly reccomend an 89. It can work with imaginary numbers, and graph all sorts of things you couldn't imagine.

any class i've had either let me use a calcualter or didn't. they never had specific regulations about which one I could use.

those were generally math classes, which oddly enough I hardly used it for[/quoted37030348e]
Personally I'm an engineering student now and I kinda wish I didn't have an 89 in high school because you tend to cheat a bit and let the 89 do the work.

I have a TI-84+ it works great for everything i need it to do. But i'm going to college for culinary arts so i wont ever really need anything to complex.

[quotea2c882ceeb="johnjimjones"][quotea2c882ceeb="justinag06"]I know I got an 86 freshman year of college than 1 year later I found out I wasted my money because I needed an 89.

if you are going to be doing a lot of undergrad math, physics or engineering, i highly reccomend an 89. It can work with imaginary numbers, and graph all sorts of things you couldn't imagine.

any class i've had either let me use a calcualter or didn't. they never had specific regulations about which one I could use.

those were generally math classes, which oddly enough I hardly used it for[/quotea2c882ceeb]
Personally I'm an engineering student now and I kinda wish I didn't have an 89 in high school because you tend to cheat a bit and let the 89 do the work.[/quotea2c882ceeb]

I didnt have one in high school, I didnt use it to cheat in my calc classes( we couldnt even use calcs in our tests) and try solving 5X5 matrices by hand every problem in your circuits classes, or solving for egienvalues, or imaginary numbers and z transforms. trust me itll come in handy

I am on the exact same track that you are on (Geometry, Alg II/Trig/ Pre Calc) and I would highly recommend the TI-89. I'm in Algebra II/Trig now as a Soph. and it helps SO much. I have also used the TI-84 and it cannot do half of what the 89 can. They are both pretty much the same price also, if you shop around.

Another engineering vote for the 89. I even upgraded from the Regular to Ti edition for my last 2 years of college. I've had an 89 since my Junior year in HS.

So I've been on the 89 for 6 years now, hands down the best investment I ever made.

As far as how complicated is it? There are dozens of people that I know that don't even scrape the surface of how complex it is. It works just fine as a normal calculator. I have dozens of programs that I've written for it over the years for almost every one of my classes.

Am I dependant on it, hell yes. But just as dependant as I was on Maple when my freshmen and sophomore years we used it in our math classes. The teachers wanted us to learn the concepts, and we did. For the tests they took away our TI-89 and our laptops.

Once you pass a class, why waste time relying on your slower brain for the 'basic' stuff. Senior year engineering and I use my TI-89 for everything and let my brain concentrate on the Gerber equation for failure, not the actual math involved.

By the same accord why not do everything by hand. I bet the fatigue failure analysis equations would take a few hours, but I wouldn't be 'dependant' on any devices. With out a doubt I bet a 3rd or 4th grader could school me at multiplication tables, but it's just rote memorization.


In addition the 89 will do units. I love it for this purpose alone. 9 m li 23 in +13 sq. yrd =. No questions asked. There have actually been times on a test where I was literally stuck. I couldn't remember the equation, but I knew what the answer had to be. So I maniplated around units until I found the right combination and actually got it right. It's an awesome tool if you know how to use it to it's full potential (which sadly not everyone does)

If you plan on being an engineer, get the 89. Even if you don't, give it some serious thought because it'll make your life a whole hell of alot easier.

The 84 will get you through any high school course...If you're planning on keeping the same one through college you may want to rethink. Otherwise spend the extra money on something more useful.

the ti89 is the best cause it does all your match for you.
like make it to any equation
solve(equation,variable) and it will say x=yadda yadda
it factors and everything too. just look up whatever you are doing in the book it comes with and sit back and relax

I have a TI-83 I haven't used in a while. i put new batteries in it for my statistics class in college, and the thing just wigged out. I push the arrow buttons and they are going all over the place like crazy. What a piece of crap! shock

i have a ti-89 and i have to say it loooks a whole lot cleaner than the ti-84 in the way it's organized on screen. there are a lot of functions that are useless for high school since i got it as a freshman last year. like someone up there mentioned, it is a lot faster and if i were given the choice again i would definately go with the 89

how are you going from Pre Cal to Calculus BC?? especially if youre obviously in geometry as a freshmen.

I took both Algebra 1 and geometry 8th grade and took alg 2/trig in 8th. Precal last year (10th) and im taking Business Cal this year (i couldve taken Cal AP AB, but guidance was being douches) point is. you need Calculus AB before you can do BC. Its the way it works. Colleges wont even look at BC if you dont have AB.

To be on topic though, I have a simple ti83+ silver and it works great for me.. in calc and physics ap.. and chem. you shouldnt need anything more than the newer 84.. or go on ebay and find an older 83 if they dont sell em in stores in stores anymore..

if you are going to be an 89/84, definitely choose the 89...its substantially better. But if you get an 89, it can do all the work for you, so be sure that you stay on top of the math by ACTUALLY doing it. But if you are just in high school, i would buy an 83-most of your stats/calc textbooks will have 83 instructiosn for keystrokes and making individual programs. I dont know if this affects you, but on the IB math test, the 89 is banned (for the reason it can do all of your work). I had to buy an 83 (which i dont need now) for the sole purpose of the IB math test. I beleive you can still do it on AP tests. Also, you cant use the 89 on the ACT either. I beleive they still let you use it on the SAT (ive never been caugh, but who knows).

Btw, I was on 1 year higher math track than you, if that gives you any idea of what i had to use them for.

So, i think you would would an 83, but if you have to have an 84/89, go with the 89 titanium for sure.

PS if you want an 83+, i have one that I can sell you for really cheap. pm me if interested.

[quote6b632028d8="whatisntseen"]how are you going from Pre Cal to Calculus BC?? especially if youre obviously in geometry as a freshmen.

I took both Algebra 1 and geometry 8th grade and took alg 2/trig in 8th. Precal last year (10th) and im taking Business Cal this year (i couldve taken Cal AP AB, but guidance was being douches) point is. you need Calculus AB before you can do BC. Its the way it works. Colleges wont even look at BC if you dont have AB.

To be on topic though, I have a simple ti83+ silver and it works great for me.. in calc and physics ap.. and chem. you shouldnt need anything more than the newer 84.. or go on ebay and find an older 83 if they dont sell em in stores in stores anymore..[/quote6b632028d8]

and in response to this, you can go from precalc to calc bc...its what I did. Ap calc/calc BC in high school is essentially a one year version of the two college semester courses of Calculus AB and calc BC. In fact, on the AP calc BC test, you get two subscores one for AB and one for BC

Plain and simple Just get an 83 or 84. All but one in my pre-calc class have them.

thanks brenden, didnt know.. I guess myschol just likes prolonging the process.. regardless, ti83 is sufficient for Calc...

So I should just go with a TI-83?

[quotee186ff3842="Daggoth"]So I should just go with a TI-83?[/quotee186ff3842]
My TI-83 plus has gotten me through algebra 1, 2. and geometry so far. Maybe you want to go with a ti-83 plus silver edition.

ti 89 is so so so so much better.
it has CAS which does all your work for you.
83 doesn't do shit for you.
its that simple

Used 84 and got me through Statistics and Calculus AB and BC.

Keep in mind that rumer has it that TI-89 will no longer be allowed on the SAT 2's, which you will have to take. They obviously give an unfair advantage because they do everything for you.

or the 89 should just become standard and everyone should stfu for not getting the right calculator to start with

Some people want to learn why certain things function and others just want the answer. That is the user's choice.

ti 84 is for high school

89 is for college, graduate school, your job maybe.

I'm not saying you won't encounter times when you won't be allowed to use an 89 in college. The professors aren't stupid, and all calculus classes I had you couldn't use a calc on the tests. So you won't just be cheating your way through college with it. I also have never had a test where a prof said you can use a 84 or 83 but not an 89.

hell you wont really need one untill sophmore or junior year in college, but you will need it for all the engineering majors out there

when you start having to solve circuits with 6 unknowns and random ass values you don't want to be doing simple algerbra by hand.

Ti-89 is much more powerful than the Ti-84, but you can get through calculus BC with a Ti-84. When I took 2nd year of calculus, Ti-89 were not allowed to be used on tests because they are too powerful (can integrate and stuff for you). Ti-89 becomes useful in vector calculus (3rd year for me) because you can graph 3d functions with it. You can download a program to graph 3d with an Ti-84, but it is nowhere near as good. Go ask the calculus teacher/teachers at your school and see if they will let you use a Ti-89, if they say yes, get it it.