I am helping a friend build a computer who is not as hardware savvy as I am.  But he is getting extremely high end stuff I am unfamiliar with.  The focus is of course a PC for optimal performance in Solidworks and ProE, but he also intends on using it for gaming.  This is an expensive system with a lot going into it, and certain pieces of hardware are questionable as far as which mix will get the best performance in these programs with the remaining budget restricted after selecting all the other pieces of hardware.  First, which would result in better performance, an Intel i7-990x with a Quadro 600 or an i7-2600K with a Quadro 4000.  Note that in either case an EVGA GTX 580 3GB VRAM (being released by end of April) will be in the case as well for gaming.  Also, I heard something about flashing a GTX580 and being able to load a BIOS or something onto the 580 to turn it into a Quadro that would be worth more than the \$500 the GTX580 cost.  I disregarded that info but maybe someone can validate that.  Also, if anyone wants to suggest better RAM for either x58 or sandy bridge setup (no sandy bridge mobo is picked since I figured X58 CPU was more important) that will be appreciated as well, hardware not listed already is listed below.

ASUS Rampage 3 Extreme http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131642

Patriot Viper 2 3X4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820220518

2X OCZ Vertex 3 120GB  http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Technology-Vertex-2-5-Inch-VTX3-25SAT3-120G/dp/B004Q81CKY

2x Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822136792

Silverstone 1500W  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256054

Dell Ultrasharp U3011

Case + Liquid Cooling http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10266/cst-997/Custom_Advanced_FrozenCPU_Dual_Loop_Extreme_Liquid_Cooled_Corsair_Obsidian_800D_Full_Tower_Chassis_.html?tl=g30c83s532