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It all depends on the character. If your Wizard uses a lot of spells that require saving throws from targets, then you want your Int to be as high as possible. If the Wizard is, say, a conjuration specialist and plans to summon monsters into combat, then you can probably get away with starting at 18.
A fighter wants as much Dex as he can use, of course. This is usually limited by the kind of armor worn. If you plan to wear heavy armor and are attracted to adamantine over mithril, then your Dex can top out at 12, since you'll lose any excess AC bonus in full plate. A dwarven plate and shield specialist probably falls in this category. If you plan to wear lighter armor, or like your armor made of mithril instead, then your Dex should be higher. There are other factors to consider, too. How often will you use ranged attacks? Can you fit Lightning Reflexes into your feat build to boost Ref saves? Can you get Improved Initiative so you aren't relying on a die roll so much to put you at the top of the initiative order?