(new client) Why does champ select require more resources than playing a higher-end game?

It takes at LEAST 5 seconds just to highlight a champ and another 3 seconds for it to lock in, so I don't have much time to think. My computer isn't that ancient; I do run an SSD and 8 gigs of DDR3 RAM, there's no other apps minus Skype open, yet it is super laggy. I can play Batman AC or Crysis 2 with a steady framerate of 30-35, so wtf.