I ran X and emacs and gcc on a 386DX with 5MB of RAM circa 1993, and while not pleasant it was workable. The upgrade to 16MB (that cost me £600!) made a big difference.
Ten years before that I saved up for ages and spent £25 on 16KB of RAM. I could have bought a house for the cost of 16MB. It's amazing how quickly it changed.
ZX81 rampack, right?
Nearly, it was actually for a BBC Micro.
We can't be friends!
Both the RAM (for the better) and the house (for the worse).