Omnimaga
Calculator Community => Other Calculators => Topic started by: DJ Omnimaga on November 26, 2014, 08:08:20 pm
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Ok what now? O.O http://tiplanet.org/forum/gallery/image_page.php?image_id=4114
After the TI-83 Premium CE (the French TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition), here comes that thing you see above: The TI-84 Plus CE!
According to the TI-Planet news at http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=173467#p173467 it seems that the calc feels very fast. I wonder if this could be TI's response to the complains about the slow TI-84 Plus CSE processor? A much faster CSE would definitively be nice, providing that ASM programs are cross-compatible, not locked down (the fact this calc case looks a bit like a TI-Nspire CX worries me a bit) and that the calc doesn't only come out in France.
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So...the non-silver calc is faster?
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Seriously, TI?
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That would be so nice if its faster... I wonder if we could interchange parts with the regular color calc to speed it up (assuming the parts are similar enough, that case concerns me).
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My main concern is that if it's really faster than a 84+CSE, then does it mean they changed the Z80 to something else? If that's the case, this could mean that CSE ASM programs won't run. Also, the calc looks a bit like a TI-Nspire. Could this be a TI-Nspire CX running a TI-84 Plus CSE emulator with no speed throttling? If that's the case, then some stuff might run much faster, but it would be kinda a waste of power like the HP 50g was (it was basically a modded HP 48 ROM running on a Saturn emulation layer). Also, there is the possibility that if this is an ARM calc and the OS was recoded, then maybe they locked it down like with Ndless, but I doubt they would ever bother recoding the entire OS to run on ARM processors.
On the other hand, if the claim about faster speed is false and that it's actually a 15 MHz 84+CSE, then does this mean that the 83 Premium CE will be a 6 MHz TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition? That would be ridiculous.
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Wow, this is... interesting. I also think the redesign looks really nice! The z80 series could use an update. I too am curious about the speed and what's inside though. Maybe a better screen or some sort of graphic processor?
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Looks like they streamlined the design. The CSE has a lot of air inside because of the smaller batteries and screen compared to the monochrome SE.
The faster feel might have to do with OS optimizations. I am still hoping they're using a 50MHz eZ80 cpu though.
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I am not really happy with the design, it looks quite cheap IMO. At least if that runs faster than a classic 84 or a CSE, that would a plus.
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Wait, what? It'd be interesting to know what kinda processor this thing thas
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I don't like the new design, and as a few others have said, I hope it isn't locked down like the nspire.
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I actually don't mind the redesign, although I definitively prefer the CSE one. I think they did it so that it looks closer to the TI-Nspire design and a smartphone. However, the Nspire CX design isn't very great IMHO due to not having rounded edges. Non-rounded edges on a calculator makes the calculator look like it's from the late 80's or early 90's.
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I rather hope it's just a TI-84+CSE in a new case, possibly with only 2 MB of flash. It would be neat if they bumped the CPU speed up to 25 MHz---I'd have to buy one. But that would require them to use a much more accurate CPU oscillator. (The old spec for the TI-83+SE was +/-20 %, so 20 MHz + 20 % would put it over the 22 MHz speed limit some overclocked units have seen.) An eZ80 seems unlikely due to the need to license a new CPU core. I look forward to learning more about this.
I personally like the new case design. I was never a fan of the curved rows of keys.
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If they used a stock eZ80 that would be fine, but yeah I guess TI wants to use their own parts to keep the cost low.
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If they used a stock eZ80 that would be fine, but yeah I guess TI wants to use their own parts to keep the cost low.
That would add an extra chip, and would cost $5 (20 MHz) to $10 (50 MHz) per CPU. It's just far too expensive. The current design has the following digital ICs:
- A custom ASIC, containing CPU, RAM, USB, bus, glue logic, charge pump for USB host mode, and lots of miscellaneous support logic. Probably < $3.
- Flash chip, for firmware storage. Can't be integrated into the ASIC without changing the manufacturing process, but doing so would vastly increase ASIC size, and lower yield. A 4 MB chip is about $2.
- LCD driver, which can't be integrated into the ASIC due to the high pin count the raw LCD requires. Less than $2.
- Battery charge controller, which could be integrated into the ASIC at the cost of several extra pins due to the high power handling requirement. Costs less than $1, especially since it's TI's own chip.
- Back light dimmer, which has the same objection to ASIC integration. Costs less than $1.
You're suggesting that TI literally double the manufacturing cost of the calculator.
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If they used a stock eZ80 that would be fine, but yeah I guess TI wants to use their own parts to keep the cost low.
That would add an extra chip, and would cost $5 (20 MHz) to $10 (50 MHz) per CPU. It's just far too expensive.
Considering PCPartPicker lists several 2+ GHz CPUs for under $50, the fact a 50 MHz CPU still costs $10 is appalling...
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You don't pay for just the cpu frequency.
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Back here because of the CE.
I agree with the case design, and the improvements made seem promising and I might eventually get one of my own. However, the arrow keys look less ergonomic. And given the similar cost to the 84+(C)SE, the processor should be z80 or perhaps eZ80 or 68k; using ARM would justify a much higher price.
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using ARM would justify a much higher price.
The nspire uses an ARM and it costs about the same as an 84+. And when people buy a calculator, they usually just look for the type number they need for school. If a teacher tells his students to get an 84+ calculator and the 84+CE is a lot more expensive than the other calculators of that series, everyone would simply get a cheaper one of the same series instead, like the 84+CSE or the normal 84+.