i actually prefer the graphire to the intuos, but that's just me. i think i have the largest graphire, or maybe the middle one... can't remember at the moment.

i actually got my first one so long ago it was serial and not usb, and that was a wacom graphire 1.0 or 2.0 or something... they're at 3.0 or 3.5 or something now. i've had lots of other brands in between, but wacom are definately the only way to go, i can tell you that for definate. they can be a hassle to uninstall, though.

have fun playing with it. after all, size isn't everything (especially when you can use the zoom tool). :D