3D/DCC (XSI/Maya) Workstation

[Edo]

Hey all, new to PCTechTalk...

Yes, yet another question about building a system... I'm looking for advice on building a DCC workstation. After weeks of scouring the net for information (no joke) I finally feel educated enough to understand advice that may be given to me regarding a mid to high end workstation. So please, help me out as after reading so much information I feel nearly more lost than when I started!

I'm looking at a quad core setup with room for growth. Here's what I'm thinking at the moment...

1 Xeon 5355 (2.6 Ghz) processor

A dual socket motherboard that supports a single Xeon cpu in operation. I understand this is possible if a "terminator" is used in one of the sockets which would obviously allow me to pop in another cpu later on with budget permitting. The motherboard should also give me ample room to expand in RAM... perhaps up to 16 or maybe even 32GB's? Onboard RAID, sound, and lan (if possible).

4-8 GB's of RAM for starters

750-1000 watt or more power supply

As far as video cards go, this is the real debate... spend on a quadro 4600 or even 5600 or buy a 8800 GTS or X. As I understand it the hardware is nearly the same (respectively, with the exception of the 5600 as it comes with 1.5 GB's of RAM), but the Quadro's come with "certified" drivers so there no graphical glitchy errors in the real-time renders.

Oh, and just to clarify, although I'm not a gamer, I would like to have the option to access new/future titles (on DX10) if I feel the need.

SO... for starters, what would be a good motherboard to spring this system off of...? Supermicro, Intel, Tyan...? I need the mobo to support PCI-E 16x...

Anyways, that's where I'm at... looking forward to your replies. Thanks in advance.

Edo