8 to 12 lbs safely on what? A little T25, or a big GT42R? Again. Set a power goal, not a psi goal.

To the OP, I would suggest a nice T3/T04 57 trim turbo. It spools fairly quick, and can handle 400+ whp easily with a good tune, that will give you a margin for more power whenever you rebuild and go forged internals, PNP head, etc. For now, if you looking for just a little road ripper to have fun with, keep it a the suggested power level. No need to add more stress to your stock block and blow your motor until you rebuild. With a 57 trim turbo (depending on what other parts you use on your setup), 12 psi "should" net you around 250 whp, and again, this is a subjective number depending on your setup, like how big your downpipe is, your exhaust, how high your intake air temps are, how efficient your intercooler is, etc.