The intuos mouse also does not come with a scroll wheel on the mouse. Since I use the mouse that came with the Graphire and a scroll wheel extensivly this to me is a small minus for going larger. And to touch on the price structure also. $429.00 for the 9x12 is a bit pricy, and even the refurb special is still $299.00 and pricy for a hobbiest. As I mentioned before, go find one and see what it's like and then decide if you can afford the higher priced Intuos or if you'll be happy with the much more affordable 4x5 Graphire. James