^I still have not tried Arch, so I can't vouch for it personally in terms of difficulty in getting it to cooperate, but I've been told it is lightning fast. As far as the other ones, I haven't messed with them all that much because I have a fairly modern comp that runs quite well in even the regular "bloated" Ubuntu with GNOME, but I know it is possible to get it much leaner than I have it without too much hassle.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH