how to optimize Ubuntu for older hardware

Partly to go with the herd, partly to be more towards the cutting edge, I'd prefer Ubuntu 18.04 over Bodhi Linux. Bodhi boots reasonably quickly , logs in well, etc -- everything it's intended for. Clearly, out of the box Ubuntu bogs down this old MacBook. Having installed Ubuntu, can I perhaps pare down the system in some way? Remove some kernel modules? Of course, the Moksha desktop is probably a huge factor. While I'm not entirely adverse to trying Xubuntu, Puppy Linux, et. al., I'd like to stick with either Ubuntu, or, if that's not workable, then Bodhi. System: thufir@bot:~$ thufir@bot:~$ sudo lspci 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 03) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 03) 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) (rev 03) 00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03) 00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03) 00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03) 00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03) 00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 03) 00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) 00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) 00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03) 00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03) 00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03) 00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 03) 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03) 02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Limited BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 03) 03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8058 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 13) 04:03.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): LSI Corporation FW322/323 [TrueFire] 1394a Controller (rev 61) thufir@bot:~$ Ubuntu Server seems to install differently on Macbooks -- but maybe it's a UEFI problem: https://apple.stackexchange.com/q/326439/112208