[Solved] New Dell Studio XPS system

I'm about to buy a new PC that I will use for heavy office use. I will be running two Microsoft Virtual Machines most of the time, and programming with Visual Studio. Here's the machine i have built. My budget: I'd LIKE to stay below $1500, but if there is a necessary upgrade that will go over that it's ok. Absolute max is $1900.

Dell Studio XPS ($1329)
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PROCESSORS Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
WIRELESS Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet

Here's the options that I'm considering. What are your opinions on these, should I upgrade?

CPU:
i7-920 8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz (I choose this one)
OR
i7-950 8MB L3 Cache, 3.06GHz add $470 (worth the money?)

RAM:
6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
OR
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs (I choose this one)

Sound Card:
(I will be doing some gaming, not a lot though)
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio [Included in Price] (I choose this one).
OR
Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio [add $60]
OR
Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Titanium [add $100]


Wireless:
Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet [Included in Price]
OR
Dell 1505 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna [add $70]

Does anyone know if Dell Studio XPS machines are easy to upgrade? I will want to upgrade the video card to a gaming card that supports dual monitors and I will want to add another HDD after I get the computer (Dell is just too expensive on their second HDD, $150 for another 500 GB pffft! I should be able to get a terabyte for that cost I think).

Thanks in advance!

hrm .. that's the Dell recommended memory for that system with that processor.

I've actually been considering building my own. I just dread the research it will require, but it may be worth it. I may look at that option though.

what do you think about this system:

i7 920
6GB DDR3 1600 triple channel
nvidia GTX 260 graphics card
xigmatek dark knight CPU cooler
gigabyte x58 mobo
WD Black 500 GB HDD 32MB cache
LG 22x DVDRW optical drive
Antec three hundred gaming chassis
xigmatek 650 watt PSU

That is another system built by a local business. I have heard good things about their computers.

This system is $1499.00

and what about this system

i7 860 (2.8 GHz)
gigabyte UD3 series mobo
4GB mushkin DDR3-1866
nvidia geforce GTX 275 graphics
500 GB western digital black HDD
samsung DVDRW
xigmatek HDT-S1283 CPU cooler, seythe slipstream fans
corsair 750W PSU
antec three hundred chassis
windows 7 home

this system is $1600. How is the i7-860 compared to the i7-920?

This looks like a very nice build. The it 860 is very similar to the i7 920. If you plan to OC, go with the 920. If not, I'd choose the 860.

Still way overpriced though.

are gigabyte mobo the best? he sales guy talk like they are the best, but I have always heard asus is the best mobo.

Yeah Im definitely convinced I can build my own a lot cheaper now. I guess it's worth doing the required research, I'm just a bit nervous because I never built a system before. I like the system you built, but I think I rather stick with the i7-920 because I been reading it uses the LGA 1366 which is what future processors will use and so it's more upgradable.

Is EVGA good motherboards too?