IMac or MacPro for 3D graphics/animation work?

For 3D graphics and animation work, mainly using Bryce, Hexagon and Poser, I'm curious about the practical difference between a high-end iMac, like the quad core model, versus a MacPro. Is the major difference between the two builds just the graphics card being built-in with the iMac, while the graphics card or cards are separate in the MacPro? If so, how does that impact performance, especially for big rendering tasks?
Doesn't the graphics card mainly handle constant-refresh tasks like playing games, rather than large episodic number-crunching jobs like rendering? For my needs it seems like the processor and RAM are the key factors, which would put the iMac on par with a MacPro. Or maybe I'm totally off base with that assessment.
Any thoughts? I'm trying to decide which system I need. Thanks.

rendering has nothing to do with the graphic card. So yes it's processor+ram.
you can expect "similar" results if you are comparing a single processor 2.66 MacPro with the i7 iMac.
However, the Macpro is available in 2-processor configuration, Higher Ram maximum, upgradable video card....
The top-of-the-line Macpro (2x2.93/6GB ram) is about twice as fast as the iMac i7 (1x2.8/4GB) in rendering tests with Strata3D.

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