RAM Varies in price with the type that you are planning to get (ie: DDR/DDR2/SDRAM), DDR2 is the standard shipping with newer units in the US.. don't really know about over-seas markets, but i can find out if you REALLY need to know. here you should expect to pay anywhere from $90-USD to $150-USD (depending on size and quality of RAM)
As Far as your new system is concerned... you probably looking at @ $1400-USD (or more) for a new laptop that will do what you are looking for it to do. keep in mind that, on average, custom machines usually are vastly more expensive to purchase than MassMarket models.

ctv8: my advise for you... only upgrade if you are willing spend the money on your computer to make sure that it works with the next, "bleeding-edge" hardware and software (keep in mind that most of today's really cool games and apps can still run from a Win98se machine)

hope this helps someone... i feel better now..