# TI-85 calculator 11 Hacker News commenters recommended TI-85 calculator and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 30 years (3 owners). **Verdict:** Owners praise its durability, programmability and usefulness for calculus and small calculations, with many still using it for decades. ## Why people recommend it - Durable and used for years (3 comments): "still use it almost every day for something or other" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47980606)) "I love the TI-85 I used through college" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47987641)) "still works flawlessly today" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981737)) - First programming and assembly experience (2 comments): "my TI calculator was my first programming experience and it's what got me to love programming" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47983164)) "that's how I got my start in assembly language" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49089820)) - Useful for calculus and small calculations (2 comments): "it is still an objectively superior tool for doing small calculations than any other alternative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47986925)) "It's certainly a valuable tool when doing calculus." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50051435)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Texas Instruments TI-84 Evo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-84-evo.md): 41 recommend - [TI-89 calculator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-89-calculator.md): 31 recommend - [TI-83 Plus](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-83-calculator.md): 21 recommend - [Desmos](https://hackerapproved.com/p/desmos.md): 15 recommend - [HP 50G](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-50g.md): 10 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Texas+Instruments+TI-85+graphing+calculator&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "TI-85 calculator", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-85-calculator/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).