Upgrading my Pro's RAM & the HD 3000 + Backups

Running on a 13" Late "11 Pro.

1)I'm currently running on 4GB of the Apple Pre-Installed RAM. At the moment this is way more than I need, but I noticed that the GPU only has 384MB of RAM. I know nothing about GPU other than the differences between integrated graphics card and dedicated graphics card, and since the integrated cards don't have their own memory, would upgrading to 8GB give the GPU more memory? Same with 10? 12? 16GB?

2)I'm able to find packs (2x4GB, 2x8GB, 4GB + 8GB), but do they sell sticks individually?

3)If yes to #2, Can I have just a single 8GB stick and put it in my computer to have 10GB of RAM? or have a 6GB stick and get 8GB? Or what about a 6GB stick and a 8GB stick?

3)Can I easily restore a backup from my current hard drive to another hard drive (say, an SSD I install) easily? Will I have to download all my programs again or will Time Machine restore all my data? What about formatting the drive and installing Lion? Will I have to get/make a Lion Recovery USB?

I don't plan on doing this just yet (I've only had my computer for a little less than 2 weeks) but I want to know as I plan to use this as my computer for a long time (most likely).

Nice to get some help?

simsaladimbamba said:

0. For the HD3000 issue and its shared RAM:

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Maybe have a look at Advanced Search to find dozens of similar threads:

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A little impatient? Maybe have a look at the rules about bumping, as it is frowned upon. And developing an attitude with your second post will not get you help sooner, I was already replying to you before you bumped that thread.

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1) You have to be quite honest. Most of the time people never use that. It's easier for people to make a new topic.

2) No need to be rude. It was on the verge of going to the 2nd page already after 1 hour.

simsaladimbamba said:

I don't even know, what that means.

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An hour after I posted I came to check for replies by going to the MacBook Pro section and it was only a couple topics away from being pushed to the 2nd page of topics. And sorry if I came off rude to you. Anyways, I got my answers. Thank you.