When I was at 5th grade, my mother bought the beast that is the CASIO fx-500MS for me to use in studying Math.

Now, back then there isn't a lot of need for a calculator for me personally, since math problems were easy enough for me to solve with my draft notebook.

As such, I use the calculator sparingly.

As I got into the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, the bulky blue serves me wonderfully.

I can solve pretty much anything with this thing and my notebook alone.

But when it was 9th grade, I realized that my calculator has many limitations, and so I got myself an upgrade.

I bought the CASIO fx-880 BTG, which was probably an overkill, considering how expensive it is (~800000 Vietnamese Dong, or about 40 bucks) and how many features it has.

Side by side comparison between the 500MS (left) and the 880BTG (right)

It has it all: Tables, functions, an intuitive variable system (Unlike the 500MS), matrix, vector, inequality, a free-form solver, a whole box of tools and utilities, atomic table, and many, many other features.

Now, most of these features isn't exlucisvely on the 880.

Most older calcs, like the 570 or the 580, also has roughly the same amount of features.

But the inequality solver and the free-form one is a game-changer, considering that inequality is one of thr hardest subject in calculus, and having a flexible euqation solver means less work on smaller tasks when solving quadratic euqations.

Anyways, enough feature-flexing, back to the calculator.

Since the arrival of this sleek bad boy, I have grown my appreciation for the bulky blue, as it wasn't much of the feature lackluster that I thought it was.

It can convert a number into a fraction, which I did not learned until recently.

But, regardless of my decision, I still love my extra thick machine.

It has served me for so long.

Dutifully and quietly.