Which calculator should I buy for my MBA accounting and finance classes?
 

Is the HP 12C still the gold standard?

I prefer the HP 17B.

I'd go with a 17B II - that's what I got at UCLA in 1996.

I have the HP 17bII, it's nice. The 10bII is very common in my finance classes. People seem to love it (easier to use?). Avoid the 12c, it is outdated.

Any of the HP's mentioned will do fine, and all are popular.

There's not much math in MBA classes, isn't going to strain any HP financial calculator.

I personally use HP12C for these reasons:
- Better feel and quality, being an old-school HP calc
- More compact
- There are some great HP12C emulators you can install on your laptop

I have both an HP 12C and a 19B II. I saw this thread and just pulled them out of storage. If you are interested in either one, PM me, I'll make you a sweet deal.

HP 12C
HP 10 B

Both good, I don't know if they make the 10B anymore?

It is still around.

I read the reviews in Amazon and most prefer the 12C Anniversary or the updated 17BII+ Silver edition. Scooter, if yours is the 12C Anniv, let's talk. Otherwise, I'm shopping for whichever fits my budget.

Thanks fellas.

Personally I'd buy an older HP12C off eBay or Craigslist.

The quality of the old HPs, in particular the key feel, is unmatched. They are made in the USA, back when HP made calculators in Corvallis OR.

The new HPs are made in China by a ODM (Kinpo) and the key feel isn't near as good.

The "advantages" of the "Anniversary" HP12C seem minimal. Algebraic mode isn't useful without parentheses, and RPN is way better anyway. The faster processor means you get IRR answers a second or two faster, big deal. The extra programming steps are irrelevant, anything like that you'll do in Excel.

I'm going to go a different direction here.

I was a Finance major in college. I used a Casio graphing calculator.

I was able to program the calculator with formulas for Black-Scholes (option pricing), bond valuation, etc.

Much more flexible than a financial calculator if you know what you are doing.

TVM too?

I've checked out eBay and craigslist for 12Cs. They're pretty cheap, the ones made in China that is. I thought they used to be made in Singapore not US?

I have a Casio graphing calc already but I think I want another toy, er, tool.

First USA, then Singapore and Brazil, now China. HP users say the USA, Singapore, and Brazil ones are pretty comparable. Oh, I think Malaysia too.

Oh, one thing is, if you take certain certification classes later, only certain models of calcs are permitted. E.g. the CFA. The HPs are, a graphing calc won't be.

Looks like you can buy non-China ones all day for $45.

To identify country of make from S/N:

Numbers are in the format YYWWC##### where
YY
Is the number of years since 1960.
WW
Is the week (roughly) in which the unit was made. YYWW is not always exact and sometimes may have gone weeks or months without changing.
C
Is the country code: A = America (USA), B = Brazil, G = Germany, J = Japan, S = Singapore, M = Malaysia or Indonesia.
#####
The serial number within the specified week and year. (This is not included in the Earliest Serial Numbers section because all are assumed to start at 0 or 1.)

The correspondence of serial numbers to dates is only approximate. In some cases, they may be better indicators of the date of manufacture of the case or label rather than the entire calculator. With some desktop models, it appears that the date code was changed only when there were manufacturing changes. On the other hand, different versions of the HP-35 can be found with the same date code.

Since 1996, some serial numbers have been in the form CCYWW##### where
CC
Is the country code: US = USA, SG = Singapore, ID = Indonesia.
Y
Is the last digit of the year in which the calculator was made. (i.e. a calculator made in 1998 would be marked 8.)
WW
Is the week (give or take) in which the unit was made. These are not always exact.
#####
The serial number within the specified week and year.

This is all great info. Thanks John!

I've had the same 12 since 1982 or so. I've used the 17. I think the 17 is more versatile in programming in differing cash flows, but it won't do much the 12 won't do if you know how. For some reason, I prefer the 12.

12C is still the boss..

Go with the 12C. Some people also like the TI BA II Plus, but I can't get used to it..