With Intel’s 4th gen (Haswell) processors on the street, many people could use an inexpensive build for a quality animating PC.
Here’s a super solid, inexpensive build:
Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87-UD3H
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X
Memory: 8GB (4GB x 2) Kingston HyperX Black DDR3-1600 Dual-Channel Kit
Case: NZXT Source 210 Mid-Tower
SSD: Intel 520 Series SSD
Bulk storage: WD Caviar Blue 500GB, 7200RPM, 64MB Cache HDD
Optical drive: Lite-On SATA DVD-R
PSU: FSP Group Raider 450W Haswell-Ready Power Supply
And here’s the full tutorial:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2040319/build-the-ultimate-intel-haswell-pc-for-under-1000.html
And scope out Intel 4th gen processors: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/4th-gen-core-processor-family.html
Oh, and Intel SSDs too: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/solid-state-drives/ssd-enthusiast-module.html