Upgrading the Vostro 1500

I have a Vostro 1500 and I just ordered a T7700 cpu to replace my aging T5470. I also wanted to upgrade the video card. I have the GeForce 8400M GS and 2GB ram.

A couple of questions. I see Video cards listed for the 1500 as
8400M GS
KU907
GM716
I believe the above 3 are all the same. Am I correct?

What are the numbers for the 8600 and does it have to be the 8600M GS or will the Gt also work? Any other numbers it may be listed by?
I found a UW390 which I believe is a 8600M GT so can I use this one?
Ok I found out this should work ok but is the upgrade worth it? $50

Will upgrading to 4GB ram be that noticeable? research tells me that with a 32 bit operating system it can only see 2gb and even with 3gb most things never get into the extra gb.

So only 1 question left.

 

Yes UW390 is the correct P/N for the 8600M GT. My upgrade went very smoothly. While you are down there, I would clean out your heatsink, heafins and fan.

Depends which 32 bit OS you have. Vista 32 bit will see 4 GB RAM but will only utilize 3.25-3.5 GB RAM. 32 bit XP should only see ~3.5 GB, but then you also have discreet graphics so probably 3.25. Honestly DDR2 RAM isn't terribly expensive and the Vostro 1500 supports 64 bit so I would just go for the 4 GB RAM.

 

Sorry about the late response.
I am running Win 7 32 bit. I could install the 64 bit but why?
A new video card is under $50 and I would have to buy 2-2gb modules so that's another $54 so about $150 to upgrade the cpu, video and go from 2 to 4GB of ram. I mainly use the computer for internet and a few games like adventure games and Roller coaster tycoon and Railroad tycoon.
So the question again is it really worth the $50 for the video card or the ram or both? Thank you

Never mind I bought a used t7700 cpu, New 8600M GT Video card and New 2x2gb Ram

 

lol well the upgrade from an 8400M GS to an 8600M GT is pretty significant. It's a turkey shoot! Games like TF2, L4D got a pretty noticeable boost, heat went up ~7C for idle and 10C full load.

Let us know how the upgrades go.