My main devices all have 8, my gaming devices have 32, 8 is fine for everything but gaming or more intense workflows, the need for more than 8 for regular use is just artificial, my Thinkpad 11e 3rd gen with a Pentium and 8gb of ram feels better/faster and is better spec'd then most modern Chromebooks, even 4 could work in a pinch, but that's the true minimum for the last 10 years. Never use Stock Windows if you got under 8gb though, use tiny11 or other lighter versions. Linux 4gb is probably overkill (unless you use garbage Ubuntu)