Linux distro for laptop?

Question

linux

I have a Dell Inspiron 15 3542 laptop upgraded to the allowed maximum: i3-4005U/8GB DDR3L 1600MHz/GeForce 820M/240GB SSD. For the last 7 years it has been running Windows (7/10), but starting from the 1909 update, the laptop becomes more and more sad - chrome starts in half a minute, Steam had to be removed from startup ...
There was an acute desire to try Linux on it, but the question of choice arises distribution. I tried the latest Ubuntu, it feels even slower than Windows 10 2004.

Tell me which distribution kit to choose for a linux-beginner, if I plan to use it mainly for surfing / YouTube / office and a little steam :)

UPD1: thanks for such a wide response. Reading the comments, I decided to put an additional emphasis on the lack of experience with linux, so using alternative DEs doesn't seem like such an option to me.

Answer 1

Xubuntu / Mint.

using alternative DEs doesn't seem like such an option to me.

That is why I suggest using distributions with classic DE, and not the one in Ubuntu by default.

Answer 2

https://habr.com/en/post/515750/

Answer 3

Manjaro XFCE.
I have it on our hardware, but it consumes little.
Before it was Kubuntu, but this one is somehow nicer.

Answer 4

Definitely Ubuntu. Not for nothing that in some configurations, Dell laptops come with Ubunntu out of the box. So there shouldn't be any problems with drivers.