Well, a lot of it has to do with resource usage.
If you remember the Commodore 128, which had 128kb of RAM there was some pretty amazing stuff they did — to include a graphical operating-environment; see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_%288-bit_operating_system%29
The Amiga also had some impressive abilities, despite what would be considered meager system resources by today’s standards.
So the question becomes so much more interesting when you consider how effectively you are using what you have.
My first personal computer has 21k of memory and a tape drive for storage.
Virtual memory is when ram made a performance difference. Using a disk drive for ram overflow brings a system to it’s knees.