Hi there. I'm going to buy a graphics tablet, but I dont' know what to buy. I want to buy best tablet for the dollar. Any suggestions?

For me, Wacom makes the best and I like the 4x5 it about $99.95. It not to bad for the price. But if you want a large tablet the price goes up, $300.00 plus. So for my first tablet I went to the 4x5.

My husband bought me a "Pablo" for Christmas two years ago. I saw it in the stores for less than $100, and made a subtle request for something similar. It's been great! It doesn't have a large writing surface (about 6"x8") but I find I use only a very small part of that anyway because I use the mouse for navigation in my left hand, and the pen for drawing in my right. Even without using the mouse, it works well for navigating the screen. So if you're strapped for cash, a "Pablo Webwriter" is the way to go.

Take a look at Wacoms Graphire 2. It works like dream and is cheap too. You wont be sorry. www.wacoms.com

Attached Link: http://www.wacom.com/

Just figured I'd fix renderhawk's link. ;) Anyhow, to stay on topic (what?!) I have a Wacom Intuos, the 6x8 model. I got it not long before they introduced the whole "2" series, and I love the damn thing. I found mine on an auction on Amazon and got it for half the price of retail, and it still looks like it's never been used. Good piece of hardware. Some others swear by some other brands, as Tyger has stated. May want to poke around a little bit and compare features. A good place to check for prices is www.pricewatch.com and then check www.resellerratings.com to see if the dealer is reputable. Good luck! I'm sure whatever you decide on will be good.

I have a Genius WizardPen 4x5 and it's really good. cheap too, 39,95 (for us non-americans ;o) )

I have the Wacom Intuos 1, 2 is out now but it is the best you can get. Mine is 6x8, 1024 levels of pen pressure sensitivity. The Graphire has something like 512 levels. Alex

If you're a hobbyist and this is your first tablet, get a 4x5 Wacom Graphire. It's excellent and not even nearly as expensive as Intuos. It has 512 levels of pressure sensitivity which is definitely enough at least for me. :)

I use Wacom and think they have great tablets.

Another satisfied Wacom user here.

I'm another Wacom-spoiled tablet user... I've had my 4x5 Intuos for about 5 months now. One thing about the Pablo... If you've got an NT-based OS (Windows 2000, Windows XP), then the Pablo is not going to work. Also, if you decide to go with the Pablo (although I really am recommending a Wacom if you're doing anything you're really serious about), check eBay first. It retails for about $89, but you can usually pick one up on auction for about $30.

I have an acecat. the one I got is a bit small to work with so I don't use it much. The dream choice is one of the Wacoms that has lcd display in it and lets you paint directly on the monitor. Pretty spendy, but on my lottery list.

Hey thanks for the replies I really appreciate that... This has given me a lot of insight of where I should go, and what to look for. thanks again

Just to add one more for comparison the Aiptek 68 is not bad at the same price as the Wacom 46 if you want more surface at a budget price. and it works just fine with NT/2000/XP.

Attached Link: http://shop2.outpost.com/product/3352532

For a first tablet and for a hobby user I think the Graphire is the best buy. Frys/Outpost.com has a few refurbished Graphires left for $69.99 (red only left). I got a refurbished one and it works just great. Wacom refurbished them so they come with a warranty and save you $30 from new. I'd rather have that than get an "unknown" from ebay.

I love my Graphire. My dog loved the pen. Fortunately, it was fairly easy to replace. ;)

LOL! - Strangechilde! Good to know about replacing pens - just in case! :-) -dg

I used to think "bigger is better," so I got a SummaGraphics, SummaSketch III. It;s 12"x12". God it's torture to move your arm all over that large surface. So I use my Microsoft optical trackball for most everything. I use the graphics tablet whenever I'm working on "fine detail," such as painting textures.

Ron with the larger wacoms you can map a smaller area. Mine is 12 x 9 and I have just a small portion of the bottom left maped. Is there anyway you can do that with yours? I spent nearly a week doing the arm stretch gymnastics before deciding to read the manual.. LOL Helen

I've fiddled with the resize thing before, and it didn't seem to stick. I can try again. Most of the time, the Optical Trackball is just the best. I move my thumb instead of moving a mouse or cursor all around. When I try my hand at textures or really detailed stuff, that's where the graphics tablet comes in handy.

Wacom Graphire is my choice for top quality at reasonable price...I have the 4x5" and it is plenty big for my needs. It can usually be found at buy.com at a discount price.{I bought mine about a year and half ago for $87.}

I agree for most the 4x5 size is ideal. I got the size I have because my daughter uses it to trace art work (her own). Bummer Ron.. Its a pity those settings don't stick. Helen

Ill add an endorsement for the Wacom, Intuous 2 5x4" in this case. With a pen the surface is large enough, the mouse feels a bit restrictive on such a small area. There is variable acceleration and speed though so its not a major problem. You may also use a separate mouse at the same time too, if you have a favourite. As add-ons you can buy some interesting specialist pens like "paintbrush" and "airbrush" but they aren`t an absolute necessity. For artwork the pen is fantastic, variable colour depth, spray width and opacity can be set, from your paint package software. In my limited experience Photoshop Elements works with it slighty better than Paintshop Pro, the lines just look a little better, something to do with the anti-aliasing. Mark

I'm a little late in the game. I had an Aiptek and although the specs on the back are higher than the wacom, I found it could not draw a simple circle without resorting to lines, where the wacom just draws circles wonderfully. I have an Intuos2 4x5, mainly because I wanted the grip pen, but I can highly recommend wacom having tried 3 different tablets (Aiptek, Pablo and Wacom)... Also look on wacom's site once in awhile. They sell refurbished ones for a cheaper price on occasion and can get some good deals. They are also excellent on customer service. I had a problem reinstalling, called them up, and they helped me right quick...

I also have the Wacom Graphire and I love it. It's now as necessary for me as the keyboard. :) The only drawback to it's size would probably be if you were tracing any artwork. Not easy to do on a small surface.