Calculator for Grades 7 through 12?

[TripleB]

My daughter is getting ready to enter 7th grade and I'm looking to get her a calculator she can use from 7th grade all the way through 12th. 

Where I teach (7th grade) we use the Texas Instruments Ti-73 graphing calculator.  I like it (probably because I'm so familiar with it) but I don't think it would be a wise purchase because she will need something more in high school.

I was thinking of getting her the Texas Instruments Ti-84 Plus but saw that the Texas Instruments Ti-84 Plus Silver Edition as well as the Texas Instruments Ti-Nspire can both be had for just about the same price as the Ti-84 Plus.

For anyone who has had experience dealing/working with the Ti-84 Plus, Ti-84 Plus Silver Edition, or Ti-Nspire, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

TripleB

[mandalee65]

I used the TI-82 and TI-83... no opinion, but you might want to wait and see what her teachers say. Mine tended to want a specific model. It was easier for them to teach that way. However, if she doesn't go all the way up to pre-calculus and calculus, it might not matter.

[rppearso]

eh, I am taking my chemical engineering PE this october and all they let you use in the exam is a TI-34X.  There is alot of value in doing things by hand when you are first learning them.  That being said I used a TI-86 through high school and college (then had to take the EIT with a TI-34X lol).  If you know she is going to be math and science heavy then I would go with the TI-89.  Just make sure that the calculator is not being used as a crutch for actually understanding the derivations and the fundamentals.