Just installed Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit on my ACER 5742 laptop. The performance is really slow.

While browsing pictures in Google, occasionally my system just freezes for about 5 seconds. Also, installing applications takes a lot of time. For example, installing "Skype" took me about 30 min or so.

In October, I installed earlier version of Ubuntu, and that version did not display any of these symptoms, so my laptop isn't to blame. And, my laptop's specs aren't that bad:

Model: Acer 5742g

Processor: Intel Pentium P6200 2.13GHz (duo-core)

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD6370M, 512 MB

RAM/Memory: 6GB 1066Mhz

Hard drive:: 500GB (5200 RPM)

I tried both a USB HDD and my 5200 RPM 500GB HDD.

I installed all the drivers that were displayed in Additional Drivers. But still, there is no improvement in performance.

Is it better to just install earlier version of Ubuntu or what?