What's more important for sketching, is a Cintiq overkill?

[ShYtFaCe]

I just recently picked up a 21UX and I'm already considering getting rid of it. Not because I don't like it, my only issue with it is its sheer size. I keep my tower on my desk, and every time I want to use the Cintiq I have to rearrange everything to make room. I had to downgrade from a 22" LCD as my main monitor to a 19" and still barely have space for everything. It's such a hassle that I've resorted to simply not using it, so I'm looking to replace it with something smaller.

I'm debating between the previous generation PL-700 and the 12WX. The 12WX seems like it would fit the bill since it uses the same tablet tech as the 21UX and is designed mainly for lap use, meaning I could reclaim all my desk space and I wouldn't have to push my keyboard aside all the time. But I'm not a fan of widescreen since I'm mainly interested in character sketching and don't do landscapes, and 10.3 x 6.4 almost seems a little too small. Especially when a lot of people say the edges are unusable due to jitter up to another inch or so.

The PL-700 seems to be right in the middle as far as size is concerned, but it also uses some pretty outdated tech. 512 pressure levels, and if the specs I've been able to find are right, only a resolution of 508 lpi? My Graphire3 has about 4x the resolution in comparison, and the newer Cintiqs roughly 10x more. What exactly should I be looking for if my main concern is line art? I'm not a painter or an inker so does that mean pressure levels really don't matter since I want my lines to be more or less consistent? And I'm assuming lpi is very important for finer lines? Also, if the 15" and 17" both have the same lpi, and the 12" and 21" both do as well, does that essentially mean the smaller panels are more desirable for lines since they have less pixels? Or am I reading too much into the specs?

It seems like for my needs even 6-bit dithering panels wouldn't be at much of a disadvantage to 8-bit ones since I'd mostly be working in black and white, and if I did do any inking it'd be with only very basic palettes. I think even a 256 pressure level, 6-bit panel with a high lpi would supply everything I need. Are there other readily available panels besides the Cintiqs that suit me?

[macmcrae]

Yes. A cintiq is overkill for sketching. Why pay $2000 to sketch when you can buy a pencil and paper plus a good scanner for $50? What makes a cintiq somehow worth it is being able to do incredible stuff with a digital paintbrush or a digital piece of chalk. It lets you do completed paintings that you turn around and sell to capitalists in stove pipe hats for alot of money. If you ain't using it for that I would say it is a waste of money.

BTW I did some of my best work with 512 levels of pressure.