[xubuntu-users] lack of memory?

[Thomas Blasejewicz]

One more question.
The machine I am working on/with now = Dell Optiplex 745, 3 GB RAM, 500 
GB HDD, Core2 processor, 2.66 GHz (do not recall the exact specs now).
This used to be my production machine at home and until last year was 
running Windows XP.
I had no problem running at least 10 applications simultaneously.

Last year installed Mint 17.1, tried to set this up as my production 
machine at my working place.
Starting 2-3 applications it used to constantly "hang" (not freezes) - 
meaning that I have to wait several minutes before the next operation is 
possible.

Now installed (my noisy clamouring here) xubuntu (16.04 -> 15.04 -> 16.04)
Things are getting "worse by the minute".
The fresh install of 16.04, where there is practically nothing added yet,
is sooo slow by now, that even typing one word like "test" takes time!

Does that mean, my hardware is failing ... or is this just another 
shortcoming of xubuntu 16.04?
According to the official website, the above specs should be sufficient.
Or am I missing something important?
Thomas