Hmm...did you do an internet search on your laptop's model? If it's a bad design, you should find reports from other buyers with the same issues.
The next option would be to do a clean install of Windows and just check it out. Virus protection products often have a bad reputation on their effect on the system's performance.
And last but not least, it really could be a hardware glitch of some kind.
Normally, though, any system produced in the past 3-4 years should be able to handle a browser or Windows Update. When the system is actually doing stuff like applying Windows Updates, it's quite possible to have your CPU go to 100% when it's in the lower end of the spectrum. It's only when the rest of the computer can't provide enough data that the CPU would go down and wait. Games, too, can be a burden. And playing videos. My own 2GHz CPU goes to 80% when playing videos.
The other question is heat. Smaller laptops are known to heat up more unless the manufacturer took care to build an expensive system using first grade hardware.
Michael
