I am going to close this topic, Thanks everyone for the help. It appears I have a borked pc after updating, as a fresh install does not have any of the issues I have been experiencing, of which there are too many to list. Some of the main ones are:
plasmashell using 10% (or more if wallpaper/background is animated, as far as 40-65% on a 16 core cpu)
vlc unable to produce video except via XVideo output module
vlc unable to produce any sound
games stuttering at random and unusual intervals despite working
pc fans speeding up and slowing down at different and unusual times
strange tearing on certain windows
etc.
A few other issues also cropped up, such as usb drives randomly disconnecting
drivers showing as installed yet missing, as well as errors from info programs
and processes refusing to quit during shutdown, though this seemed random.
Thanks again for helping me diagnose my computer 
I know i type too much.