If Ubuntu is too resource heavy for it, there are Linux variants that use even less.
It does just fine but this is my side-of-my-easychair computer for doing stuff like browsing FR. I have 3 newer PCs with Linux, two of which are 64 bit. One is dual boot (Win 7 Pro and Mint), the other is for playing with. That’s where I’ve been playing with Mint, Debian, LDME, Fedora, etc.
I’ve also been running live secure mixes like Tails and Ubuntu Privacy Remix.
One issue that I’ve had with a few old laptops is that they won’t accept some distros as they require PAE.