I am in the process of getting one, just need some opinions on which one is the best fit for me. I am into texturing and drawing in-post work. Should I go with the graphire or intuos2?

I'd say you'll do just fine with Graphire. It's cheaper than Intuos and at least I have always been very happy with my Graphire :-)

The Intuos is a little more expensive but is more sensitive to pressure, giving you more control in painting apps. I have an Intuos and absolutely love it, you don't need a big one 4x5 is plenty even for my 21" monitor. For all intents and purposes it has replaced my mouse. The graphire is more a general purpose tablet. If you do a lot of graphics I would get an Intuos, a bit more money but averaged over the years you will use it not that bad, it has programmable functions and a very confortable pen, you will wonder how you lived without it.

I have an Intuos too and I'm very happy with it. I agree you don't need a big tablet especially if you work on details and you zoom in on your monitor, you'll be always working on the same area of the tablet...

I use Graphire. there is only one shop here that sell Wacom products, and Graphire is cheaper in about 300 dollars (I think) you should think for what purposes you wish to use the tablet. I work with poser and photoshop as a hobby, I am not a designer of any kind, so Graphire is enough for me :-)

It really depend on your needs. I have an AIPTEK Hyperpen 6000, that has 509 levels of pressure. The Graphire has 512 levels, so it's better than what I have, but since I need a new tablet anyway, I think I would much rather go with something much better than what I have. The new Intuos2 is much less expensive than the Intuos used to be, and you can find the 4x5 size here: http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10311916 for less than $200. It's the only thing on my holiday wishlist...ok, it's notthe only thing, but if I have to choose between that and anything else; that's what I want.

Depends on how much you want to spend. Everyone I've spoken with who has a Graphire has been pleased with it. Me? I have an Intuos 6x8 that I got for $150 and I love it (granted I got it used, but you can't tell it's been used. The seller said it had only been used a few times and by looking at it I believe them!). I would like to have a larger tablet, but it's not a big deal. I'm not much of an artist anyway, so for what I use mine for, it's fine. Go with whatever is in your budget, but I don't think you can go wrong whichever way you go with them. Wacom makes quality products. Happy shopping. :)

I have the Intuos 9x12 and love it. I chose the larger tablet because I hope to only by one, I use it in other drawing programs where I draw big and have used it for tracing at times. I love the pen and also use it for my mouse most of the time. I came with a wireless mouse as well but I have never used it. Too bulky. I have seen some of the little ones for as little as $99

I'm very happy with the Graphire. The mouse is a little light and plasticy for my taste, but given as I mostly use the pen, that's alright. It does have a clear coversleeve for tracing which is dead handy. If you're a high-end user you'll probably want something better, and bigger, but I find the graphire to be just what I needed.

I had some previous training in computer art years ago. I'd always heard great things about the Summagraphics line of graphics tablets. A couple years ago I got a good price on a SummaGraphics SummaSketch III. (Somewhere around $200 at the time.) I love it. The tablet has a 12x12" drawing surface... and I never need to worry about running out of room. The only hassle is if I use the "cursor" (puck?!) as a mouse... I need to move my hand all over that surface... It gets a little tiresome after awhile.