AOL 9.0 causes high CPU usage

I just upgraded my computer from AOL 8.0 to AOL 9.0 Security Edition. With 8.0 my CPU usage was minimal, but with 9.0 my CPU usage sits around 65% if I'm not doing anything, and will vary between 65% and 100% if I'm loading webpages. AOL 8.0 worked fine for me, but AOL 9.0 has added features I was interested in. Is this CPU usage unhealthy for my desktop, and should I go back to 8.0?

More than likely AOL is updating in the background. When you close AOL do you get that little window that pops up saying to wait because AOL is updating..? Hit cntrl+alt+del one time to bring up task manager and it will show all the process' you have running and how much of your resources that each one is consuming. Also a few tips with AOL, purging your artwork and dumping your browser cache is a good practice to keep. Its been quite some time since I used AOL but when you open AOL, find your "Options" or "Settings" option up there on your tool bar. Your looking for the fonts and graphics settings. It will be a small window with the number 40 or 60 inside of it and have arrows point up and down to the side for adjusment. Run that number as far as will go (version 8 goes to zero.. 9 should stop at 10) then click to "Save" and then close AOL completly. Wait for a minute or two (it should give you a popup saying somehting about removing artwork). Then open AOL again, go back were you were and change that setting back to its original setting. Click ok and close AOL completly again. You must do this process 2 times. Clearing cache.. click on start, then programs, then AOL, and then AOL system properties and under the very first tab you should see the box that shows your browser cache with a button to clear it.