HP48SX vs. HP48GX

[Michael Robbins]

I'm in the process of getting a HP48SX. What are the major differences between the 48SX and 48GX? Do I need to buy a 32K RAM Card to run larger programs? There is one for sell that I may consider. Thanks, Michael Robbins

[Klaus]

Besides many minor changes (keyboard layout, menus, etc.) and more memory, the one majot forthcoming was the 4MHz clock instead of the 2 MHz clock in the S/SX series. If you can spend the money, go for a GX. It will cause you much more fun!

[Michael Robbins]

Thanks for the info. How much more memory is there in the GX than the SX?

[Steve Simpkin]

For a complete list of the differences between the HP48SX/S and the HP48GX/G/G+ models, see the official HP48 FAQ at:

http://hp48.ml.org/docs/faq/48faq.html

An excerpt follows:

3.2 What is the difference between the HP48 G/GX and the HP48 S/SX?

The HP48 G/GX calculators are, basically, slightly faster (by 40%) versions of the HP48 S and HP48 SX calculators, with more features, such as 3D-plotting and a new forms-based interface. Much of the HP Solve Equation Library card is now built-in. See Appendix B-1 for a detailed list of GX features.

Note, however, that the HP48 G/GX is different from the HP48 S/SX in a number of significant areas:

1.The HP48 GX comes with 128KB RAM, as opposed to 32KB RAM in the HP48 SX. The HP48 G still has 32KB

RAM, however. The HP48 G/GX also has twice the ROM (512K), compared the HP48 S/SX (256K).

2.Much of the HP48 G/GX internals have changed, compared with the HP48 S/SX. Unfortunately, this means that many

programs written in assembly language or System RPL won't work on the HP48 G/GX. This is especially true of any

program that tried to access the display memory directly.

3.The HP48 G/GX CPU runs at 4 MHz, instead of the 2 MHz used with the HP48 S/SX CPUs. However, due to various

overheads (memory bank switching, etc.), the speed increase between the S/SX and G/GX is less than 2 times. G/GX

throughput is approximately 40% faster.

4.Slot 2 of the HP48 GX can access up to 32 ports (ports 2-33) by bank switching. Each port is 128KB, for a maximum

total of 4 MB in slot 2.

This FAQ is located on the http://hp48.ml.org (www.hpcalc.org) web site that has over 120 MB of software devoted to the HP48 series calculators

Overall I would recommmend the HP48GX or G+. Be aware HP is comming out with a new calculator, the HP49G. This is a major revision of the HP48 series with over 1.5MB of user memory. Read more about it at:

http://hp48.ml.org/hp49g.html

Sincerely, Steve