Yeah, the system RAM requirement does seem a bit low. I mean 8 GB currently is basically just saying 'No you can't hook this up to that laptop which was designed for the day to day use of an average web surfing, Netflix watching, and video chatting individual.' I mean it should be basically a non-requirement for people working in computer graphics or interested in this for gaming.

It's the recommended spec, not a requirement. And they're just following the industry. The bang-for-buck point for gaming PCs has been 8GB for a while now: The price difference is not great, and while some modern games won't use more than 4 gigs, some will. It's nice to have.

Possibly to prevent paging or swapping that might introduce hitches in performance. Noisy neighbors chugging my VR process would be annoying.