ML / 10.9 is a bit of a RAM hog. I have some machines that run it with 4gb and it is just enough for regular office stuff. 2gb is cutting it pretty fine.
["when I were a lad" interlude: I remember running 10.3 on iMac G3s with 128mb RAM and for a whole year my personal machine was a 1st gen white Macbook with 512mb RAM running 10.4]
[Mac bashing interlude: Mac OS performance on old hardware has gotten worse over the years. Windows 10, on the other hand, has essentially the same requirements as Vista which will be nearly 9 years old by the time it comes out]
SSD always helps
