I bought this calculator for my upcoming FE Exam in October 2013. I have been using it for the past couple of months to get acquainted and to study. When I was in school I used the TI-89 Titanium religiously. Unfortunately that's not permitted on the FE exam so I chose this one. Upon using it I must say that for a non-graphic calculator it's fantastic. The shortcut keys (for exponents, powers of 10, fractions, etc.) are a nice touch. The built in equation solver, polynomial equation solver, system of equation solver certainly shave a lot of time off of my calculations concerning static equilibrium, quadratic equations and circuits. This calculator also does Matrices, up to 3x3 and vectors in three dimensions. It even has popular constants (permittivity, Boltzmann, Ideal Gas, standard atm, etc) built in along with a whole conversion menu. On top of that it does numerical integration and numerical derivatives and plenty of other things I'm probably not going to mention.
I consider it to be more user friendly than the TI-89 Titanium because of the shortcut keys and nice interface. For example, to calculate a determinant on the TI-89 you must press 2nd, MATH then scroll to Matrix, then select Det( and press enter. Then you have to remember the syntax which is det([a1, a2, a3][b1, b2, b3][c1, c2, c3]) and finally press enter.
On the Ti-36X Pro all you have to do is press 2nd, Matrix and scroll to edit and enter how many columns and rows you want in the specified matrix, press enter and then put in your values. Then once the values are saved you go back to the Matrix menu and select Determinant and put in the name of the matrix where you saved the information. Pretty slick for a smaller calculator.
The four line display provides enough room to see what your doing and the text is fairly large which I like. With the bigger calculators you usually have to squint to see some numbers, especially in low-light situations. This calculator also features Mathprint. This means that fractions, integrals and most other mathematical notation shows up as it's supposed to. However if you don't like this there is a feature to turn it off. This is especially useful for when you're calculating something like a parallel resistance circuit and you want to see that big fraction to make sure you didn't make a mistake.
Of course no review is complete without listing the gripes. There's not too many problems with this calculator however there are something that really bug me. The first one being that there is no option to toggle "insert" like the TI-89 has. Usually I find myself needed to edit an equation that I just entered. Therefore I have to press second, then insert and put whatever I needed into the equation. Not a big deal but can get annoying at times.
Second, I don't like the chrome arithmetic buttons. At times I find myself hitting the subtract button when I wanted to do some addition. However I solved this problem by running a fine-tipped sharpie over the buttons and rubbing off the excess on the surface. Now the symbols have a black color in contrast with the chrome. Much easier to see and I suggest this method if anyone else has this problem.
Third, you must press a button multiple times to get what you need. For example say I want to type a complex number (3+5i) on the screen. I press 3, +, 5 and then I have to press the "pi, e, i" key three times just to get the "i" symbol. Can be a bit annoying/frustrating and you might make a mistake if you've had way too much caffeine as I normally do. Although I suppose they had to do this to consolidate space in the design process so I can respect that. Just a little annoying but I guess it comes with the territory. This can add a bit of time to the learning curve if you're not used to these "multipress" buttons.
That's basically it. For a non-graphing calculator I give it a 9/10. Comparing budget calculators, I've had the TI-30Xa and the Ti-30XIIS before and this one blows them out of the water obviously, hence the name TI-36X PRO. I've never had a Casio calculator so I can't compare. With this many features and usability at the price of $17 or so it's certainly an exemplary buy. A great budget engineering calculator and certainly the best to use on the FE exam in my opinion. Go with this one!
Texas Instruments TI-36X Pro Engineering/Scientific Calculator | 9.7 Inch | Black.
4.8 | 21,662 ratings
Price: 20.73
Last update: 09-10-2024
About this item
Ideal for curricula in which graphing technology may not be permitted.
MultiView display shows multiple calculations at the same time on screen.
MathPrint shows math expressions, symbols and stacked fractions as they appear in textbooks
Ideal for high school through college: Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Calculus, Biology, etc.
Convert fractions, decimals and terms including Pi into alternate representations.
Select degrees/radians, floating/fix, number format modes.
MultiView display shows multiple calculations at the same time on screen.
MathPrint shows math expressions, symbols and stacked fractions as they appear in textbooks
Ideal for high school through college: Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Calculus, Biology, etc.
Convert fractions, decimals and terms including Pi into alternate representations.
Select degrees/radians, floating/fix, number format modes.
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 9.76 x 6.77 x 1.1 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 4 ounces |
| ASIN | B004NBZB2Y |
| Item model number | 36PRO/TBL/1L1 |
| National Stock Number | 7420-01-246-3043 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included) |
| Customer Reviews |
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars
21,661 ratings
4.8 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #284 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products) #6 in Scientific Calculators |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | June 14, 2006 |
| Manufacturer | Texas Instruments |
| Country of Origin | Philippines |
Top reviews from the United States
Andrew W
Excellent function for such a small, inexpensive package.
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2013Great Calculator!
Great Calculator!
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2024Miguel3505
Great calculator for engineering
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2024Emily V.
Great Engineering Calculator
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024swade
Good product
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2024Silabrity
Best calculator
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2024David Hartwell
THE best (currently) non-graphing calc (at least for number theory)
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2013Llewelyn Curling
Good calculator!
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2024