I run Icewm on my crappy Dell laptop, simply because it flies.
There is a nice thread over at LQ.org about Icewm.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/Applications_GUI_Multimedia/IceWM_Tips
A great addon to use is:
"IceWM's Control Center"
http://icecc.sourceforge.net
My IceWM settings. I use Rox to manage the background image and for a file manager.
Toolbar
prog "kpr" "/usr/share/pixmaps/mplayer.xpm" /usr/bin/kplayer
prog "SysGrd" "/usr/share/pixmaps/other/Alien1.png" /usr/bin/kpm
prog "XTerm" "xterm" xterm -ls
prog "Kw" "/usr/share/pixmaps/kword.xpm" /usr/bin/kwrite
prog "gvim" "/usr/share/pixmaps/vim-16.xpm" /usr/bin/gvim -f
prog "Firefox" "firefox" firefox
prog "ROX" "/usr/share/pixmaps/xffm4.xpm" /usr/bin/rox
My Shortcut Keys
key "Alt+Ctrl+c" xcalc
key "Alt+Ctrl+x" xkill
key "Alt+Ctrl+a" acroread #Adobe Reader 7.0
key "Alt+Ctrl+g" gimp
key "Alt+Ctrl+f" firefox
key "Alt+Ctrl+b" blobwars
key "Alt+Ctrl+m" gkrellm
key "Alt+Ctrl+o" opera #Opera 9.0
key "Alt+Ctrl+i" /usr/local/bin/icecc #IceWM Control Panel
key "F1" terminal
key "F2" rox -pinboard=mypinboard # Opens Rox with background image/icons
key "F3" firefox
key "F4" thunderbird
key "F5" Ctrl+Shift+r
key "F6" grun
key "F7" xmms
key "F8" oowriter
key "F9" gaim
key "F10" xedit
My Preferences file only has a couple of changes from the default.
# Rox changes:Manage root window (EXPERIMENTAL - normally enabled!)
GrabRootWindow=1 # 0/1
# Bitmask of root window button click to use in window manager
UseRootButtons=3 # [0-255]
# Desktop mouse-button click to show the menu
DesktopWinMenuButton=1 # [0-20]
# Desktop mouse-button click to show the window list
DesktopWinListButton=2 # [0-5]
# Desktop mouse-button click to show the window list menu
DesktopMenuButton=3 # [0-20]
The "winoptions" file has some changes made for Rox-filer.
# ROX-Filer pinboard and panel
ROX-Filer.icon: folder
ROX-Panel.layer: Dock
ROX-Panel.doNotCover: 1
ROX-Panel.ignoreWinList: 1
ROX-Panel.ignoreTaskBar: 1
ROX-Panel.ignoreQuickSwitch: 1
ROX-Pinboard.layer: Below
ROX-Pinboard.ignoreWinList: 1
ROX-Pinboard.ignoreTaskBar: 1
ROX-Pinboard.ignoreQuickSwitch: 1
ROX-Filer.layer: Normal