I would love to upgrade from my dinky intuos, but I'd like to hear what others have and how they feel about them!

My main concerns with what I currently use is the poor connection that results in lag and the size.

I have an intuos pro right now, medium size. My old intuos 5 still works but it stopped accepting pressure sensitivity which made drawing with it pretty annoying and pretty much impossible. It’s why I eventually just bit the bullet late last month and decided to go with the current model of intuos instead.

If you’re up for an upgrade, the pressure sensitivity and smoothness of the intuos pro is <3 so far. Also, Wacom has a 16” Cintiq that’s 649 or so, still expensive but far cheaper than other Cintiqs though. That’s if you want to stick with Wacom; I’ve pretty much only used Wacom tablets but I’ve heard good things about Huion as a cheaper alternative though.

i have a huion inspiroy h640p as a teeny tiny upgrade from the one ive been using and i love it so much!! it has 6 hotkeys on the side which is more than enough with me, ive had it for about 2-3 months and ive had absolutely no issues with it. its also only about 40 dollars on amazon!!

which edition did you get for your Intuos Pro? It's totally a contender for me!

I have an intuos pro M, the PTH660 model currently.

It’s this one from the Wacom store.

https://estore.wacom.com/en-US/wacom-intuos-pro-medium-m-pth660.html"> Wacom model

I've got a tiny Monoprice, which is just a rebrand/repackage of Huion - it ran me under $40, and has been a good and consistent tablet for several years, once I finally managed to find and configure the proper drivers! it miiight the same one fun mentioned having, just under a different brand name? :')

It comes with a plethora of extra nibs for the pen hiding in the bottom section of the pen-rest, though after several years of use, I've only needed to replace the nib once. It does not, however, have a screen, so if you're used to screen-display tablets, it's not going to scratch that itch, but if you're going to buy a sub-$40 tablet, you probably weren't looking for or expecting a display.

For how cheap it is, it performs how my first tablet, a Wacom wireless Graphire, did - though with even more buttons along the side. I haven't mapped them, yet, I'm not used to it and all of my absolutely 100% necessary tools are beneath my fingertips as hotkeys anyway, but someone else may find the buttons useful!

I use Wacom Intuos Small. It's never failed me before but then again, I'm not a professional artist.

A little soapbox about cheap tablets that might help you. If not, it might be an interesting read for the techies.

I use an Ugee but it's one without a screen. The one I have is... definitely a knock-off. The company has gotten better over the years though. It's become a leading brand. All of their newer models are fairly competent. They're able to compete with other brand-name sellers.

The Ugee screen tablet is surprisingly solid from what I hear. And, from what I hear, the drivers function like they should. You may want to uninstall anything Wacom if its already on your computer. But I've never used one personally. My partner is an art college grad and I guess some of his peers use Ugee too so... maybe its worth a look into?

But a bit of advice if you're buying "bootlegs," especially older models that don't have screens. It was pulling teeth to figure out some driver/windows related complications but it's very possible. I had to do a lot of the figuring out myself because the popular opinion at the time was that "all knock-offs are bad." I think it's gotten a bit better. More tech savvy folks are braving the bootlegs and sharing their triumphs. I made comments on a few reddit posts so Sai 1 and Photoshop errors have solutions out there. Probably even more by now. Google is your friend. Any other program (including Sai 2) should work with a bootleg tablet because most of them aren't doing anything weird with permissions and defaults. If you can't find help with your specific tablet but you know you have the right drivers, try searching under a different "knock-off" brand's name. There's a lot of overlap with these things. Some knock-offs are even bootlegs of other knock-offs. I think there is a brand that uses Huion drivers but they are mostly defunct at this point. (It might be the Monoprice mentioned?) They use all the same parts and were probably made at the same factory. Amazon reviews will tell you if your tablet needs another tablet's drivers. It's always good to check those. You'll always see people complaining that they're tablet doesn't work. This is only really a problem if people are plugging in their tablet and it won't even light up. If you can get power to your tablet then you can probably get it working with a bit of finessing.

This may go without saying but make sure the tablet you buy has the Windows you are currently running listed in its description. It doesn't matter so much what the comments are saying. Windows 10 can be finicky but as long as it's listed that means there's a way to get it working. I have heard things about Windows Vista causing issues too but.... God I hope no one is still using Vista.

I cannot give any advice with Macs but I think Macs might have it easier because a lot of the problems I have encountered have been "Window's jank" aka "Windows causing problems because they're Windows."

Mind you, if you get a newer "knock-off" with a screen you probably won't have any problems. Screen tablets are usually prioritized when an off-brand develops their driver updates.

So basically, a knock-off tablet can run any program. Period. Unless it's so broken that it can't get power to it. So what's the catch?

While I'd love to say there's none, I'd be lying. There is one real and unavoidable caveat. They tend to run cheaper because the parts they're made with are cheap. Breakage happens easy. It might even happen in the box while it's shipping. There is always a chance that your "knock-off" could do you dirty upon arrival and warranties might not help you if they aren't from the manufacturer. I think Amazon's warranties have a fine print. I suggest reading into coverage before buying a separate warranty. Haven't bought a tablet in years though so I may be wrong.

Test every square inch of your screen and look for places where your pen "jumps." Do this the day you get your tablet. If it's even slightly off you should ask for a replacement. "Jumps" only get worse the older the tablet. I remember I had a manufacturers warranty from a now defunct company (aiptek? aeptech? something like that) and they were actually really cool about replacing my tablet when I was the one that dropped it. Good stuff.

My Ugee held out 3 years before I ended up buying the same one again. I didn't have a warranty and even if I did it would have been expired. The first one I had dropped on concrete, my fault entirely. This one has gone 3 years now and its still in great shape. I'm older now and not being jostled around a college campus with it. I can see it lasting 2-3 more years. I have dropped this one a few times on carpet when getting careless with my recliner. We will see I guess. Fingers crossed.

I got a computer lap board for my "knock-off" to avoid bending without compromising comfort. I like to draw with the tablet on my lap. I don't recommend using a bootleg on your lap without a board. A hardcover book will do and it's what I use when I can't find my dedicated board. Seriously though. These things do NOT like getting bent. Stepping on a board accidentally is a "game over." Keep this thing where feet can't get to it. Don't let pets stand on the board. My cat isn't allowed to stand on my workstation for a reason. Then again, he's almost mainecoon sized and a little chunky. A lighter cat might not disturb it as much.

Always read the sellers reviews if you buy a knock off. Not JUST the product reviews. A seller with less than stellar comments on their page might treat your package like it's a hacky-sack. Be wary of bot comments. Look for legit praise and legit criticism (review bombing your competition with negative reviews is a real thing in 2021.) Watch how the seller responds if they do address their customers. If you buy from Asia your product will probably arrive super late. There's not much you can do about that, sadly. I'd say if its over a week late then you can be alarmed.

Yeah that's pretty much it.

TL;DR Don't let the stigma stop you from buying a knock-off.