I started out with what must have been a graphire back around 2000, a couple years later i upgraded to a big purple intuos. I used both mainly for drawing.  By the time I started putzing around with 3d I'd switched over to Toshiba tablet laptops with active digitizers and wacom drivers. A temperamental Portege m400 which only lasted a couple years and then an M750 which I've been using since 2010.

A couple years ago I also picked up a entry level cintiq.  

I still find myself using the M750 a great deal and recently ordered a ram expansion for it to try to squeeze a few more years of life out of it.  It's a cintiq like experience and the differences in pressure sensitivity don't make a lot of difference in any of the work I've ever done, either 3d or illustrative.  I really only ever sit down at the cintiq when I'm doing texture/displacement work in zbrush and need the superior power of the pc it's hooked up to.

So, moral of story, maybe keep a tablet laptop with an active digitizer somewhere in the back of your mind too.

@Daz3d
@ShareCG