Well now I feel old. I remember buying a 486 with 8MB and thinking "I'm really living in the future now!" The mhz were ridiculous and -- according to my memory -- most instructions ran in a single cycle too! (Warning: my memory is not a reliable gauge of the state of computing at the time.)

8MB was pretty extravagant but it turned out to be a good call even though it could be had for half the price within a few years.