[TriLUG] Newbie linux question

[jstolfi at nc.rr.com]

I have been using a Ubuntu derived distro called peppermint Linux on my laptop. I have been using Ubuntu for years, but my laptop hp2000 seems sluggish. Ubuntu proper ran fine on it, but I disliked unity. If the base os is the same why would I have performance problems? Is there another distro that will give me a gnome 2 look and feel, with the ease of Ubuntu? Thanks for helping.

Jeremy