Core 2 duo i3 will do the job when ur talking about using for long term i would say go further becoz our field is So Hardware hungry even 980x can come down to knees
9600 gt will be fine he can game and do work both any 8 series Good and 9 series card which is emaculate in core speed and fits budget can do the job if he is into gaming as well u can get him good card it makes difference in performance as well if he is not into gaming 9500gt is also fine
3dsmax some plugins supports Nvidia Phsyx so get him nvidia
9600 gt will be fine he can game and do work both any 8 series Good and 9 series card which is emaculate in core speed and fits budget can do the job if he is into gaming as well u can get him good card it makes difference in performance as well if he is not into gaming 9500gt is also fine
3dsmax some plugins supports Nvidia Phsyx so get him nvidia