Suggestions for $800 light gaming/work system?

I've been reading through the threads here, and the advice here seems phenomenal. I haven't built a home system in several years (at work we purchase Dell's), so was hoping to get some up to date hardware recommendations. Everyone seems to have really got the price points worked out well here. So without any more chit-chat:

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before the end of the year (targeting Black Friday purchases would work if that helps much)

BUDGET RANGE: $800 before rebates preferably. That's not a hard and fast limit, if there's a good argument to go as high as even $1000.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet, photos and documents, mid-size databases, light modeling (GIS), Casual gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor (22" Dell Ultrasharp), speakers, OS (Windows 7 Enterprise/Ultimate 64 bit)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel based-system (I'm just more familiar with them)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe (but unlikely unless it would be stupid not to)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I need RAID 1, for me the peace of mind is worth the $50-$100 required for the extra hard drive (I know it's not a sub for backups). I assume almost any MB will do it on-board these days. I'd like a minimum of 4 GB of RAM, maybe 6 GB if anyone can squeeze a triple channel system in. I get the OS for virtually free (legally) through work, so no worries there. On-board audio is fine with me as well.

Thanks for any advice given!

Thanks, that's a good starting point! I'm assuming a triple channel X58 MOBO would be outside my price range, and probably not worth the cost?

Are there any other good builds you might suggest I compare this too?