Clarification on mage plz

[nina]

Hi guys,
Quick question. I've done research on magician as a class and I'm interested in it. Just wondering, however, how much a difference does race make? Erudite has best int, but blind, DE has great int, but i have enough evil chars on the go... I'm not too keen on gnome but HE has less int than everyone but human.
I know whatever race I go, I'll get used to, just wondering if anyone has advice?