I don't see a record on the website of the differences in minimum/recommended system requirements between elementary OS releases (Luna 0.2, Freya 0.3, and Loki 0.4). Are they the same between releases?
Support for the previous elementary OS release quickly wanes after the next's release, though the release's base Ubuntu is supported five years from its release (see this table).
Loki (0.4)
Based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus
- Same as Freya, but no longer supports 32-bit processors (only 64-bit)
Freya (0.3)
Based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr
Recommended System Specifications [Note: Still supports 32-bit processors]
- Intel i3 or comparable dual-core 64-bit processor
- 1 GB of system memory (RAM)
- 15 GB of disk space
- Internet access
Luna (0.2)
Based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin
Minimum System Requirements
- 1 GHz x86 processor
- 512MB of system memory (RAM)
- 5GB of disk space
- Graphics card and display capable of at least 1024x768
- CD/DVD drive or ability to boot to a USB drive
Users may be able to install Luna on devices that do not meet these requirements, but the experience is likely to suffer.
System Recommendations
- 1 GHz x86 processor
- 1GB of system memory (RAM)
- 15 GB of disk space
- Graphics card and display capable of at least 1024x768
- 3D compositing
- CD/DVD Drive or ability to boot to a USB drive
- Internet access