Upgrading Mac Pro - How Difficult will it be?

I am thinking about purchasing a Mac Pro with one 2.8GHz quad-core "Nehalem" processor and one 1TB hard drive. I like the idea of upgrading the system myself.
How difficult will it be to install a RAID card later? Any suggestions that I should keep in mind when I am planning to make this upgrade? Lessons learned? Any specific type/brand I should be looking to purchase?
Thank you!

how hard is it to upgrade the processor(s)?
I would liken upgrading processors to changing the water pump in a car. There is substantial dis-assembly and re-assembly, and care must be used to avoid collateral damage. There may be need for some improvisation. The process is straightforward. "It's not difficult, just complicated."
One of the first to attempt it, the principal of the tech site Anandtech, trashed one of the sockets on his processor board in the process and was forced to buy a new processor board to complete his project and illustrated review. The complete gory details are on his site.
In my opinion, most users are far better off trading in their older Mac for a faster one, when that is what is needed. Conserve your time and anergy for what you are best at -- which for most people is not likely to be computer surgery.
If you are anxious about performance, by far the best performer for less than the cost of TWO Mac Pros is the 3.33 GHz 6-processor (available as a build-to-order off the Quad Processor selection), It is "only" 1+1/2 times the cost of base model
Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

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