On a $1000 budget you'd best buy components instead of a whole machine, you'll get more bang for your buck that way. Gaming cards run Maya just fine. From what I gather you don't want a total CG machine nor a total Gaming machine, you want a bit of both so I suggest a gaming card. You should be able to get a good, video card, cpu+fan and mobo, hell, maybe even some quality RAM with you're budget.