I have only used the TI-83 before purchasing the TI-86. From the few weeks that I have used this calculator, it has saved me a lot of time and effort. The biggest time saving thing on it is the solver and the simultaneous equation solver. What would take me tons of time and an entire page of writing, solving for 3 or even 4 unknowns, now just takes a few seconds. All I have to do is put it in and hit solve! Also, the vector function of this calculator is nice for my Calc III, statics, and Physics classes. It comes most handy when working in 3D. However, the interface is hard to work with and can take too much time. They should come up with a faster and easier to use menu to edit, enter, and use vectors. Other than these things, it does everything the TI-83 does without any trouble. It is a good scientific calculator, as long as your teacher allows it to be used! I am glad I made this purchase. Read more

The program ability and easy of use make this my preferred calculator. The newer one require more programming skills where as this only requires your knowledge of mathematics and order of operations is just like you’d write it out on paper! Plus the ability to create multiple programs for frequently used situations is just awesome! Read more

I purchased 2, my 16 year old needed a TI-86 and my 13 year old told me she needed a TI-84. I opted to purchase 2 TI-86's, but they came with nothing, no booklet, no warrantee papers no cables, AC adapters. Then I put 4 rechargeable 1.25v batteries in it and the screen was so light I could only read the screen in the dark. Then I put in 4 new Dura-cells 1.5v batteries and the screen went so dark we can't read it at all. This means the only way we can read the screen is to use 2- 1.5v & 2- 1.25 batteries. Now after going through all that with Nathan's TI-86, then we tried Ruth's and found it reacted to battery voltage exactly the same way; so tell me what happens at the end of the class period when the batteries voltage starts to drop; will the screen just get lighter and lighter until they have to change one of the batteries? If I would have known, I would have paid double the price. So were these, TI-86's Chinese knock-offs? I would like to get the windows cable, but until I get an A/C adapter that works, I don't dare spend any more on it. Papa J is not a satisfied customer Read more

Needed to specifically get this model for Statistics, so I'm glad there was something out there for a reasonable price. Mine wasn't new, but it was in great condition and that's pretty much what I needed. It works well and still works now. There were no issues operating it, it was basically like a new calculator. I still use it so I can get as much value from it as I can, and sometimes I like to play around with it by solving statistics problems here and there. Thank you for being there at the right place at the right time. Read more

The TI-86 is one of the peaks in the TI calculators series. It was created and came on the market around 1996, right after the TI-82 and the TI-92. It was better than the TI-82, with a bigger screen, more memory and built-in functions and capabilities. Unlike the TI-92, it could not do symbolic calculations, but its ease of use and versatility quickly made it a favorite. Then, Texas instruments made a very unpopular decision: it decided to discontinue it. Apparently the company was afraid that it would jeopardize the sales of their newer models, the TI-83 and the TI-92 Plus. And so the TI-86 was "eighty-sixed"... leaving its enthusiast to look for it on the second-hand market. I bought a used one on the Amazon, after my old one faltered, after 10 years of use. Since then, TI has introduced newer and faster calculators, with a lot of memory and additional features. Yet, to this day, the TI-86 can hold its own in many respects. Compared to the TI-84, it has a bigger screen (128×64 pixels), uses long variable names (up to 6 symbols), and has superior handling of matrices, lists, and vectors. Compared to the TI-89 and the Voyage 200, the TI-86 has a much more intuitive interface, especially when programming your own functions and programs. As an instructor, I often use both the TI-84 and the Voyage 200 (because these are the one approved for our students), but for personal calculations, I always keep a TI-86 at my side. Read more