> 4K editing, software development, local AI models, gaming and the ever-increasing bloated requirements from web browsers and Electron applications have all pushed up memory requirements a lot for general computer use.
We assumed RAM was going to be cheap forever. I thought it absurd when an IT friend just 2 years ago told me he specked 32GB in all new workstations he ordered for office users running MS Office and webapps. His rational: "it was cheap so why not?"