3D model, render, animate build

[nowefg]

Hello,

I've been looking at the forums; and the ads, and the cautionary tales...

So far, this is what I plan:

Purchase complete by year end 2012
Under $1000
No monitor at this point
Use - no gaming, but a lot of 3D modeling, rendering, animating - still exploring softwares
Country - USA
Vender - Newegg, most likely

i5 3570k looks good, is as far as I've decided so far.

Will I need a video card for animation?
Read many forum articles and tutorials, which seem to say yea and nay to everything after a while.

From someone with direct experience in the above use-areas, recommendations?

 

[Rugger]

Some rendering software can take advantage of nVidia's Cuda Cores...you just to determine if the software you want to use is one of those programs. If it is, then there are advantages to getting a GPU for additional processing power. You don't need to get one of the K cores unless you plan on overclocking. With your primary purpose being rendering/modeling/animating, the PCs performance would be better with a higher-end i7 CPU; you would need to balance that additional cost with the GPU cost if you determine that you'll benefit from it.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[nowefg]

Best answer selected by nowefg.