new monitor and wacom advice? ;-)

i need to buy a new monitor and a wacom clone for running off my 17" laptop.

please could i have some advice- i cant afford to buy mac ones, but want the best i can get for illustration use.

the monitor will need to be a good colour match, 20'' plus, and about £100-£150.
the tablet will be a4 or larger, and must be really good- i can do about £200-300. not sure if i can get actaul wacom or have to settle for a cheaper tablet for that price.
i have no idea of which tablet to get- how do i choose?
does all the necessary stuff- software etc? -come with tablets?

following the nightmare ive had with my cancom 'reconditioned' laptop (screen dead in 4 months) i will NOT be buying second hand!
cheers! ;-)

I don't think there are any monitors that come out of the box that are spot on color accurate. Even if there were they would cost at least 2 grand plus. You have to do this yourself using software or by other means.

As for the tablet you probably can afford a real Wacom tablet. The Intuos3 9X12" is close to your price range.

cheers.

As for Wacom tablets, you can get plenty on ebay, and they are usually much cheaper than new