Q6600 Core 1 maxed out

Ok, so I built my computer just about 1 year ago to the day...here are the specs

CPU: Q6600
Mobo: MSI P7N SLI Platinum
VGA: NVIDIA 8800GTS KO Edition 512MB
RAM: 2Gb Corsair
OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit

Now I know I need more RAM (and maybe that's part of the issue) but whenever I use the internet, ie.search youtube, open a webpage with any type of animation, core 1 on the processor starts jumping between 40-90% usage. I have the little CPU usage app for my sidebar and it just starts goign crazy. It slows the PC down to the point where I'll move my mouse and a few seconds later it will jump across the screen...If I am trying to watch a video on Youtube or listen to a song I can't because the audio is stuttering. This whole issure is a relatively new problem. I am about to reformat and reinstall this weekend (and upgrade to 4gb RAM) but has anyone had this issue before? Keep in mind that when all this is happening I might have two tabs open in IE and that's it. Other than my antivirus (Zonealarm) that is all that's running.

Hi! Seems it's a windows problem. A clean install should fix that. If you're going 4Gb you should get a 64bit operating system. A 32bit OS with 4Gb is a bad combination. It will actually slow down your pc.
32bits OS were built long before someone could think about having the full 4Gb of ram.
The PCI memory address space overlaps with the last gigabyte of ram I think. So you will be able to use only 3GB. There's a way to trick vista to at least recognize 4Gb but it's slooow.

So my recomendation: 32bit --> 3Gb máx (but make sure you don't lose the dual channel!)
64bits -->4Gb ram

Always use dual slots so you use dual channel.

Regards!