http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/raw/raw.htm
Just read this, its by no means comprehensive, but I am far too busy at the mo to write reams about this.
However Postcard CV is correct when he commented re generating large tiff files, clearly the chip inside a DSLR body has a lot of work to do and only so much of the processing power can be dedicated to converting the sensor data to a jpeg when shooting jpegs. Compare this to the much more highly refined algorythms in a dedicated RAW converter coupled with higher RAM and processsing ability of dual layer pentiums etc in a PC (or Mac equivalents), these also are not time restricted as with in camera processing that has to work within buffer/shoot rate tolerances.
If you shoot RAW and then only convert to jpeg there will be little noticable difference to shooting jpeg straight off, but you have significantly more control over the end result.
It is when converting to tiff files that the advantages are considerable, higher bit depth and wider gamut colour spaces (jpeg is just 8 bit with only sRGB or Adobe RGB colour spaces available) This is where significant image quality is retained when enlarging because there is so much more data for the interpolation software to work with, this smoother end file also has big advantages when using sharpening (USM) because sharpening works by increasing edge contrast.
I regularly produce images from my 1Ds MkIIs (and so do the RSPB) that are at least 2 metres in the longest dimension, today I am generating a 3 metre square Barn owl for a client, ages ago I did the obvious comparison between a RAW original and jpeg original, believe me the difference is massive.
Unless you work to the highest standards with properly colour corrected monitors and a real awareness of the abilities of the software and file types then you will not realise the full potential of your camera.
But then we live in a world where many people buy 4x4 off road vehicles and only ever use them for shopping at Sainsbury's!
As an add on to the above, as RAW processing technology advances there is a real gain with regard to reprocessing older RAW files because you have all of the original data; whereas a jpeg is a reduced data file that has had maybe 30% of the shooting data discarded, however much image processing software advances that lost data is not retrievable