So I’ve done a Linux install on a 4GB Chromebook, with 16GB eMMC storage, and what I learned is that it really depends on what you use the machine for, and which distribution you run. If all you’re doing is word processing, managing emails, and browsing on YouTube, you can absolutely run Linux comfortably with 4GB, provided you pick one of the leaner Linux distros. For reference I ran Gallium OS, which was a Xubuntu flavor specifically tuned for lower end Chromebooks.

ETA: In comparison, I had a relative who bought a laptop off those TV sales networks that had a similar CPU RAM and storage setup, except running Windows 10…it ran slower than a snail, and one day it had a Windows update that was too large to fit on the combined RAM and page space. The poor woman couldn’t use the computer because the update forcibly ran in the background and consumed all her memory every time she turned it on. So yeah, you can’t game on Linux with only 4GB of memory, but I am confident that I can do a major OS update on it at least.

You know, I had never noticed this correlation until you brought it up, but it’s kind of sad how accurate it is…