Which OS X is the fastest for my old MacBook? I am going to do a clean install of OS X on my old MacBook (Late 2008), but the computer will only be needed for:


tabbed web browsing (Safari/Chrome), 
word processing (Office/iWork),
and maybe some iPhoto work.


The most important factor is speed (operating, startup, etc.), and all the added features of each OS X are secondary.

Which operating system — the latest Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, or Lion — will run the fastest on this MacBook?

Computer specifications:


2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120 GB HDD 5400-rpm
Currently with OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard)
I have the same machine &amp; spec, and have not noticed any slowdown when operating at the latest supported version of Lion when compared with previous versions. Of course, this is purely anecdotal, but reviews have also fairly repeatedly suggested a slight increase in basic speeds incrementally with new versions.

One this is for sure, throw in a cheap SSD of the same size as your existing disk, and it will fair fly compared whatever it feels like now.

Compare, for example, your specs to my Macbook Air 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4Gb RAM and SSD, which supports ML and feels faster than my 2.93Ghz iMac with 8Gb on the same OS (or did until I put an SSD in the iMac).

Put simply, your CPU and RAM can handle whatever you want to run just fine.  Your disk may start to feel the pinch a little, but small SSDs are very cheap these days and will easily make your machine feel like new - that particular macbook is at the sweetspot of benefitting most from an SSD for the least money.