Thanks for the input @Geoff, @Aryvandaar, & @Zoltan. I'll definitely give Manjaro a shot as well. Hopefully it can show my laptop who's boss. I remember messing around with it in a vm years ago and was somewhat of a fan. So far I'm digging Mint 17.2 on this old desktop of mine though. It worked right out of the box and has accepted every accessory I've thrown at it.
Thanks again for your help, time, & consideration.