Question ssd regularly reaching 100% usage; slowing whole pc

[kilo24]

ever since upgrading from an rtx 2080 to a 3080 (also getting a better psu, a new cpu fan, updating my mobo bios) it's become more and more frequent, slowing my entire os to a crawl until it lets up. usually it happens after startup or just randomly while doing nothing/miscellaneous tasks, but recently it even happened in a game (ffv pixel remaster)

gpu: zotac rtx 3080 trinity oc (10gb vram)
cpu: core i9 9900k
ram: 2x8 16gb ddr4 @2666mhz
ssd: WDC WDS100T2G0A-00JH30
hdd (secondary): ST8000NM0055-1RM112
psu: corsair rm850x
cpu cooler: scythe fuma 2 rev. b
display: ultragear 27gl850

 

[Colif]

Have you tried running tests on the drive?
https://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?p=279

what motherboard? did you update intel management engine interface at same time as the BIOS?

Hard to tell if that 100% usage is a read or a write

Download Process explorer and run it as admin (it comes from Microsoft so its safe). Its a replacement for Task Manager, shows way more info most people don't need to see

the default view is tree structure meaning like your task manager screen, it will show what processes are under each service, but unlike task manager, it shows the ram usage of each part so you can see what is eating your ram. I normally use this for helping with other problems but it might show what is causing the spikes

Private bytes = Ram + page file usage
Working set = actual ram usage

This page shows what all the colours and headings mean, link at bottom of it shows how to use it to find problems. You can right click processes and run an av scan from within the program.

By default it doesn't show disk usage on main screen but if you right click the header row, it shows a choice to Select Columns...

that opens a new screen.
choose Process Disk

Now which process to follow is likely in need of experiment
Probably want to tick:

• Reads
• Writes
• Other

and see what you get. You will need to drag the columns across to left as they will be added at far right of main page.
If you click on the charts along the header row you get more visual representation of usage - Disk usage is on I/O tab

guess it might give a clue as to which column to add to main window.

 

[kilo24]

-the wd dashboard smart diagnostic extended test gave me this

-motherboard is the asrock z390 phantom gaming 4, and the intel management engine interface is up to date (v2131.1.4.0)

-some results from process explorer, the first one is from right after booting

 

[Colif]

-the wd dashboard smart diagnostic extended test gave me this

Error Code 3

Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) attribute read failure. This may be due to a media error. It also may be due to a defective connection. Retest after checking the connections. Replace the drive if the error repeats.

https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/7519
try replacing the sata cables and redo test

your last 2 screenshots really hard to read. small images, maybe combined with them being 1440 and I am expanding them to bigger