Looking at a system that will primarily be used to do renderings, but also some 3D modelling and a lot of cad work.
 
The first setup will be two computers using the Q9300 and will use net render to utilize dual quad cores. Will try to overclock up to 3.0 ghz
 
The next setup is just using dual Xeon processors E5420, just not sure on the motherboard.
 
Anyone have any suggestions on either build and which is worth the money
 
First Setup
Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black $49.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s $174.99
Video Card: XFX PVT84JUDD3 GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $92.99
Power Supply: Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 $69.99
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $84.99
Motherboard: ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel $119.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor $279.99
CPU Cooling: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $26.99
 
Total = $784.92 x 2 = $1569.84
 
Second Setup
Case: ABS Aplus ABS-CS-EL Diablo Black 0.8mm SECC ATX Full Tower $139.99
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $59.99
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $209.99
Power Supply: Rosewill RX750-D-B ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 750W $134.99
Motherboard: Intel BOXD5400XS Dual LGA 771 Skulltrail D5400XS Extended ATX Motherboard $659.99
CPU: Intel Xeon E5420 Harpertown 2.5GHz LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor $344.99 x2 $689.98
Memory: A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) $149.99
 
Total $2044.92

PSU for both of the builds are cr@p. I recommend you get a Corsair or PP&C. 2nd PC should work best (in pure performance vs. build 1) for heavy CAD work. You won't need very high GPU power, you can save $ by going with a 8800GS.

Thanks for the quick reply I am swapping the PSU to the following
 
PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V for $149.99
 
and also swithed the memory for the second setup to  
 
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)  for $186.99
 
Any suggestions on a video card

For rendering, look at video capture cards; these cards can do hardware-accelerated rendering, which is a hell of a lot faster than CPU rendering.
 
I'd go with the second build. Change the power supply, get a bigger hard drive, maybe a cheaper motherboard, and get 8GB RAM because RAM is cheap.

If you are rendering video, the Raptor is not necessary since the processors are the bottleneck. I would spend about $120 or less for a 750 GB Seagate SATA 300 or $179 for a 1 TB version.

^Agreed on HDD

Looks good on PSU and RAM. To recommend on the video card I need to know EXACTLY how much work you will be doing. How many CAD models will you render at once on screen? How many parts/features for each model?etc.

Also is it absolutely necessary to spend $140 on case for 2nd build?

Anything else that pops out to anyone?? Is th Skulltrail worth the money $650? Do I need CPU Coolers, I will not overclock?!? Case is the  cheapest Extended ATX pedastal case I can find!!!  
 
Motherboard: Intel BOXD5400XS Dual LGA 771 Skulltrail D5400XS Extended ATX  
CPU:  Intel Xeon E5410 Harpertown 2.33GHz LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor    
PSU:  PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
GPU:  EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16  
HD:  Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
RAM:  mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)  
CPU Cooler:  ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Case:  ABS Aplus ABS-CS-Monolith Black SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
 
$2044
 
I have some odds and ends in the price as well, thermal paste, fans, keyboard and mouse.
 
If I loose the coolers I can upgrade to 2 E5420 CPUs
 
Any final comments will be great, I was trying to keep it under $2000 and I am pretty close!!

^Skulltrail probably would be the cheapest option for a server like motherboard imo, those server boards can cost up to $2k. Note that you  WILL need FB-DIMM for the Skulltrail.

I am back at the drawing board just found out that the skulltrail needs 2 x       8 pin 12v power input the few PSU I can find costs between $300-$600  Way out of my price range. SIGH
 

for the video card, since it is doing mostly cad work and such, no gaming. I would go with the quadro as it would help. I would stick with the original setup you had in post 1, but change the power supply, and up the cpu if possible if you plan to overclock as the lower multi might make it difficult. Change mobo as well to a p35, since you are not planning to use sli.

You could run 2 PSUs together, but that requires some modding.

I think I am going back to the dual PC. As much as I would like to do the Xeon money wise it isn't in my budget. If I go the double pc route I can use one as the network pc, and also use it as a small media pc.
 
This is what I have picked out now!!!!
 
Case:  XCLIO Coolbox Fully Black Finish 0.5 mm SECC Chassis/ ABS Frontpanel ATX Mid Tower $44.99
HD:  Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $59.99
GPU:  EVGA 512-P2-N757-TR GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $99.99
PSU:  CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $109.99
RAM:  G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $84.99
MB:  ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX $119.99
CPU:  Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 $344.99
CPU Cooler:  ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $26.99
 
Multiply x2  
Total = $1,902.23  (including keyboards, mice, fans, paste, OS)
 

Looks good. Just swap the Freezer 7 for a XIGMATEK- S1283 and you should be all set. Review: http://www.frostytech.com/top5heat [...] ELHEATSINK
 
Also unless planing to SLI drop the 650i and get a P35/X38 board.  
 
You are OVER PAYING FOR GPU!  
Get one of these cards if willing to pay $100-150 for the GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150275
$90 (after MIR) XFX 8800GS  
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814103051
$100 (after MIR) DIAMOND Viper 3850
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130334
$140 (after MIR)  EVGA 9600GT
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150279
$130 XFX 8800GT 256MB