[xubuntu-users] Xubuntu 13.10 High Memory Usage

[ZP]

Hi folks.  Playing around with my netbook, doing some distro hopping as 
it were.

Let's get this out of the way first:
System specs (if it runs well on this, it runs well anywhere!)
Dell Mini 1012 Netbook
CPU: Intel Atom CPU N450 @1.66GHz
Mem: 2GB
Graphics: Intel Integrated N4xx Graphics Controller

I installed Xubuntu Beta 13.10 and noticed fairly high memory usage, 
i.e. 1.3G on a 2GB RAM system.  Currently running Manjaro with only 
489MB being used, and the Xubuntu Minimal Install that I linked to 
earlier used about the same, at 500MB-ish.  All these numbers are idle 
after start-up, no external programs running.  These numbers ALL seem 
high based on what I've read other people submit, but this is straight 
after a fresh install, so perhaps the limited specs of the netbook force 
some memory use right off the bat.

I'm not a Linux expert by any means, but I've heard discussions about 
Linux RAM use isn't a real indicator of performance, but the discrepancy 
between Xubuntu 13.10B and the others is quite high. I considered 
submitting a report, but not sure where to start.

Typically, what I notice on this netbook is after prolonged use it 
starts to slow down considerably, which I can only attribute to RAM use. 
  Accordingly, I've been searching for ways to run this system with as 
little RAM as possible...I've tried Manjaro Openbox, XFCE, LXDE, etc, 
but time and time again I come back to XFCE, since I just like it SO 
much better.

So a few questions:
1) I'm using commands 'top' and 'htop' to determine memory use. Is this 
correct? Is there a more accurate way?
2) What should I look for on Xubuntu 13.10B to zero-in on the 
high-memory use? Other than listing the 'top' report, is there a better 
way to submit what I'm seeing?

I want to help the beta effort if possible, so any assistance here is 
most appreciated.