Which Calculator?

I used the HP 33s when I took the exam on April 06 and I hate it. Which of the allowed calculators is the most powerful? It would be nice to see at least 2 lines on the display (so you could see what you entered last).

So which is the best/most powerful? :eyebrows:

The Casio 115 was the big winner for me. I don't do RPN, so I bought both the TI-36 and the Casio, and the Casio won.

Hey, welcome back JoeysVee! You "disappeared" right around the time I joined up, I think.

Personally, and knowing full well that you may only be posting this to start a nerd war, I'd go with the Casio fx-115ES. It's cheap, easy to use (no RPN), and does everything you need, and has the two-line display. But if you like the RPN, get the new HP 35S - I believe it fixes some of the complaints about the 33. But you could buy 3 Casios for the price of it.

Thanks! I really don't want to go the RPN route. So the Casio fx-115 will do more than the TI's? :dunno:

JoeysVee said:

Thanks! I really don't want to go the RPN route. So the Casio fx-115 will do more than the TI's? :dunno:

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I like the tactile feel and the ease of doing calcs on imaginary numbers on the Casio. The both do essentially the same functions, but I think the Casio is better built and has a better button layout.

JoeysVee said:

Thanks! I really don't want to go the RPN route. So the Casio fx-115 will do more than the TI's? :dunno:

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I don't know. But it does plenty. I bought an HP-35S after I passed the exam, intending to switch over to it (I used to use RPN and thought it would be helpful), but I keep using the Casio. It does everything I need it to, and it's cheap as hell.

I used the TI for my first two tries. I've always used TI's. On the third (and last) attempt, my friend lent me her Casio 115. It was great once I got used to the buttons. It didn't take too long, with working all those practice problems. The Casio 115 also gave me piece of mind... it was solar.... shouldn't worry about losing power. But I got an extra one for the exam, just in case something went wrong.

you should turn this into a poll. I vote Casio too!

I had always used TI's previously, for the exam I bought the TI-36 as my primary calculator and the Casio as my backup. While studying I found I liked the casio a lot more (dual line entry, being able to go back and correct your entry, etc.). The casio has become my calculator of choice even now for day to day tasks.

As an added bonus I think one of the casio's that is approved for the test now has a three line display.

TI-30 fan here...

roadwreck said:

you should turn this into a poll. I vote Casio too!
I had always used TI's previously, for the exam I bought the TI-36 as my primary calculator and the Casio as my backup. While studying I found I liked the casio a lot more (dual line entry, being able to go back and correct your entry, etc.). The casio has become my calculator of choice even now for day to day tasks.

As an added bonus I think one of the casio's that is approved for the test now has a three line display.

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A 3-line display...that would be nice. Any idea what model number it is??

:beerchug:

JoeysVee said:

A 3-line display...that would be nice. Any idea what model number it is??
:beerchug:

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I think it's the fx-115ES

Edit: Nevermind, I just pulled up the info for the ES and it says it only has a two line display. I have the fx-115MS (which has a 2-line display) and I know the fx-115ES has a bigger display then mine. An old co-worker had the ES and said it was capable of inputing 3x3 matrices, which mine can't do, so I was pretty sure it was a 3 line display.

I used CASIO fe-115MS for pass my FE exam and I will use it again for my PE exam this coming Oct.

However, I was used TI-83 back in University and it was very nice graphing caluator but they changed rule that they will not using the TI-83 anymore that the whole department will use NCEE approved calculator later.

One of my firend has a crazy big calucator(I called mini-computer) for his every EE exams, he told me that he just need to plug in unknow and equations that this amazing machine will give you answer! By the way I am mechanical. I forgot which model and manufacture that was.

I got the TI just because I had been using TI's up to that point. I got the TI-30XIIS since it's solar/battery so there would be a decreased worry about battery issues in the middle of the exam. It's got the 2-line screen but it also scroll up to see previous calculations...I'm not sure exactly how many, but it's quite a few.

I'm sure it's been said several times on this board, but it really comes down to personal preference. If you've studied the way you should have, you could probably pass the test with one of those old wristwatch calculators (although I don't think any of those are on the approved list).

I used the fx-115ES and had the fx-115MS as a backup. I liked it alot, very easy to use.

Whichever one you get just make sure you have plenty of practice with it so you know how it works come exam time.

I think I'll go with the Casio fx-115ES, Thanks for all your help. I think I'll order 2 of them incase somethign happens to 1.

jeb6294 said:

I got the TI just because I had been using TI's up to that point. I got the TI-30XIIS since it's solar/battery so there would be a decreased worry about battery issues in the middle of the exam. It's got the 2-line screen but it also scroll up to see previous calculations...I'm not sure exactly how many, but it's quite a few.
I'm sure it's been said several times on this board, but it really comes down to personal preference. If you've studied the way you should have, you could probably pass the test with one of those old wristwatch calculators (although I don't think any of those are on the approved list).

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that would be cool if they were...one less thing on the table to have to move around

TI-36x Solar for me. I've had the thing for over 15 years and has treated me just fine. It got me through high school so I already had a good feel for how it worked. Only in college did I upgrade to a TI-86. The 86 is now my primary, but I had no issues switching back to the 36x for the exam because they have the same layout.

snickerd3 said:

that would be cool if they were...one less thing on the table to have to move around

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I was sitting under a roof vent and consequently the primary use of my calculator was switched to "paper weight."

JoeysVee said:

I think I'll go with the Casio fx-115ES, Thanks for all your help. I think I'll order 2 of them incase somethign happens to 1.

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If you order 2, keep the first unopened in the original packaging so you can return it afterwards.

I used to be a HP Fan until I bought the Casio 115. It is much easier to use and cheap. Does everything I need it to and then some.

JoeysVee said:

I think I'll order 2 of them incase somethign happens to 1.

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Or to let someone else borrow...as ridiculous as it is, there is inevitably at least one person who shows up without a calculator or with one that isn't allowed. I also guarantee that there will be people with cell phones even though the directions they send are pretty clear.

That should be part of the admission process for the exam. Cell phone or illegal calculator? No exam for you!!!