First step would be to try different browsers. See if you can isolate the problem to that.
Then, if the problem still exists, you can try updating your drivers. There is no decent program that (that I know of) that will automatically update drivers, but if you open the run utility, enter dxdiag, and go to the display tab, there should be the exact model of gpu that you have. Google should take care of you from there. Most drivers come in pretty simple .exe installs, just make sure you get the correct bitrate for your system (also readily accessible in the dxdiag utility, under the system tab).

 

Considering my specs, and the fact that I'm using Chrome (although I have a number of extensions, does that bloat these things?)

What browser do people suggest for the least overhead (almost positive that's the right word)

 

Firefox, internet explorer, doesn't really matter. The idea right now is to see if it's Chrome causing the issue. And if it is, then it should be as easy as reinstalling Chrome.

 

Extensions shouldn't hog so much, unless they're outdated and shitting their pants. If I were you I'd first check Chrome advanced settings under System to see if Hardware Acceleration is enabled. It's quick and easy, so it's a good place to start. If it isn't enabled, enable it.

Next I'd install SpeedFan or some other program you prefer to monitor temperatures of mobo and CPU. It's possible that your fan is malfunctioning or that the heatsink is too dirty. If you feel comfortable opening up the laptop this should also be pretty easy to check. High temperatures can increase CPU usage.

Only after checking those two I'd check the mobo driver (full chipset). Windows should automatically update that for you but for some mobos it's better to get them directly from the manufacturer. Then again, this being a laptop i'm not sure how much of a difference it'll make. I only had this problem on a desktop and a driver reinstall did the trick.

Let us know how things go. I remember doing a bunch of googling for this and it seemed to be a really common problem.

 

Antivirus is a tough question, I guess it depends on your computer really, I mean most modern computers can deal with antivirus resource hogging. Personally I have always gone for avast but mostly because I like the UI.
Yes, it's a stupid reason to choose an antivirus for but, hey I'm pretty superficial.