Z370M-ITX/AC huge fps drops across all games

[Openupitsdave]

Z370m-ITX/AC
8600K
GTX 1080
2k 144hz monitor
16GB RAM 2400mhz
960 EVO M.2 SSD
Win 10 Pro

OK Ive been getting lower fps across all games for about a month now. I used to get a full 300fps on epic settings in Overwatch, but now its down to 180 and jumping all over the place..Even on lowest settings it'll drop down to 220 whereas normally, the fps counter would be stuck on 300. Quake Champions is having the same issue-- I used to be at 300 with minor drops to 280 on High settings, but now im bouncing all around the lower 200's on lowest settings... ...Even CSGO im getting 280 fps(!), and even less when someones drops a smoke. So something is definitely wrong and ive tried all of the common fixes like: Rolling back video drivers and Bios versions....ive tried with and without IME fix....tried reinstalling windows multiple times...tested RAM for issues...tried reseating RAM...ran defaults in bios...tried using only the drivers provided through asrock support page...Nothing.

Also, I started getting audio/video desyncing on all video streaming ie twitch, youtube, etc the same time I started having fps issues, so I know theyre both being affected by the same thing.

Also, benchmarks are proving that there's something wrong-- My scores are much lower now than benchmarks I took months ago (In Passmark). 7930 --> 7128

Running a Passmark benchmark shows that I scored well above the average and very often, in the 90% percentile or above.....EXCEPT in the 2D benchmarks.
For my 2D score, my system very bad (54th percentile) in Complex Vectors, and in Windows Interface (70th percentile). Everything else I scored in the high 90's. What could this mean?

What component of my PC renders 2D graphics and why would it only be doing bad in these two tests?? Perhaps this is what is causing my fps to drop..

Temperatures are not an issue as my CPU is delidded/aircooled and not going above 60c. Plenty of cooling going on..

So im stumped. I think it would be CPU or GPU related, and a buddy told me that I could have chipset issues, which I cannot find any info on for this mobo, so that's why I came here. Which chipset driver/verison should I be using? I open Device Manager and it shows a driver for a Xeon(R) E3 5th gen PCIe controller...and also a bunch of drivers for "Intel 200 series chipset"....wtf?? I right click to update driver and it says I have the latest installed.. This is the chipset driver that was provided on asrock support page....??

Let me know and I can upload any pics of any info needed...I really dont know what could be causing me to get this low of fps in games now...Im getting the performance of a GTX 1060 6gb which I previously owned... help me!

Here is the support page for my mobo: https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z370M-ITXac/index.asp#Support

 

[photonboy]

1) CPU
a) Run the Intel CPU Diagnostic: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool
*That goes back to DEFAULT (non-OC) values so you should REBOOT your PC if you have done any overclocking.

b) run Prime95 whilst monitoring with Task Manager
- if you see a "CPU SPEED" value at the expected result (i.e 4.4GHz or whatever) whilst seeing near 100% usage, AND the correct number of graphs (six) then your CPU is working fine.
(for Performance-> CPU you must right-click the graph and change to "logical processors" if only one graph shows. This is simply to confirm all six cores are being utilized.

2) If the CPU is working then it's not an issue with it or your DDR4 memory bandwidth.
(also no need to reseat DDR4 memory for issues like this. improper seating would cause ERRORS or failure even to boot the PC not simply performance issues)

You should still run MEMTEST86 though www.memtest86.com because errors can cause data corruption which in turn could cause problems

3) Thus it is most likely an issue related to the video driver and/or changes to Windows 10.

I have a GTX1080 + W10 Pro + latest NVidia driver but do not have the issues you report.

4) I highly doubt it's related to the motherboard. In fact I doubt it's a hardware issue.

5) Your Youtube etc issues suggest to me it's a Windows issue. Possibly some corruption requiring a reinstall of Windows.

*So while I'm not sure what to suggest specifically, at this point my best idea is this:
a) shut down and unhook all HDD/SSD's
b) add an HDD or SSD that's at least 60GB
c) install W10, NVidia driver
d) install whatever you need to confirm things work (i.e. Steam + CSGO)
e) if it works now then your options are to either REINSTALL Windows or try to repair the software problem in your current Windows installation

Other:
*I'd also try this:
a) remove ALL programs that affect the GPU (MSI Afterburner etc)
b) run DDU to remove video drivers http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
c) install NVidia driver but now choose the "Custom-> Clean" option
d) if that still fails, do an "In-Place Upgrade" of Windows 10 (run "startup.exe" from a W10 USB stick and follow instructions... will replace some files when it "upgrades" W10 to W10)

 

[Openupitsdave]

photonboy, I have tried reinstalling windows but I have always let them install drivers for me, then I install asrock's recommended drivers after...Could that be a problem? And yeah I always use DDU, and do a clean install of nvidia drivers.

If I want to use only the bare minimun drivers to install after a fresh win10 install, which drivers would those be, and in which order should I install them? I know I neednetwork driver, chipset, sound, and video...what else?

Is it possible I have a virus in my mobo, and would doing a CMOS reset help clear away said virus?

Also, I ran Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool and passed everything but I would notice that my PC would freeze up at times and the load would drop down from 100%.