It depends what you are running. This might help explain. http://www.ehow.com/facts_4967404_what-ram-memory-used.html
if you like to change a laptop every year the difference is not quite big. If you want to have a device that can be used for 3-4 years and still enjoying, probably you should go for 8 or 16-een GB
RAM (random access memory) - much faster, temporary stoage, power gone = information lost. Flash memory - slower, permanent stoage, power gone = information still there.