Minimum system requirements for SMOOTH operation

I have an older DELL laptop I would like to dedicate to just running my XCARVE via easel.
What in your experience are the minimum requirements (RAM) and preferred operating system, for smooth troublefree operation?

I have an old Dell Laptop as well - only a core duo and no. I will never try it again there is no need when an ok system laptop or desktop can be gotten for around 100 bucks Craigslist or pawn shop…It does not need max Ram or a massive Video Card just to run Easle but you internet and CPU do help keep the system flowing.

I am using a chromebox that i installed windows on. The specs were probably fine as it was but I upgraded it to 8GB of RAM and 128GB hard drive. I also used this as a HTPC in the past, but all the encoding was done on the server side…

http://kodi.wiki/view/chromebox