[iBook] iBook 500 slow

[Kathi Anderson]

Just purchased an iBook 500 dual USB with 20gig HD, 128 ram and OS 10.3.4.
I am new to X, but I can't help but notice how the iBook bogs down for
simple commands (just opening and closing windows when re-setting
preferences). Compared to my mini tower G3 266, the iBook is really
crawling. The iBook is plugged in to AC and no other apps are on or is the
iBook connected to ethernet or anything else. The battery is not too bad, it
keeps things running for about an hour when charged up.
The iBook does not have any other OS besides 10.3.4. I checked.
Near as I can tell from checking Apple's specs, this is a late issue IBook
500 that came installed with X. But why does it run so slow?

Any ideas?

Thanks, Kathi