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Wooohah

Arma 3 frametime spikes/ stuttering in Exile after clean OS install

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Been working the past 3 weeks on this issue and I'm starting to run out of options/ ideas. At this point, I will literally pay money to the person who helps me figure this out.
Been on Windows 10 Version 1607 with Nvidia driver 378.78 since April (it ran stable, the creators update gave me audio problems) a few weeks ago Windows forced a driver update on me and then forced me onto the latest windows version (1709).
Long story short, I couldn't disable updates again and I would need to do a fresh install either way. I decided to give the newest version of Windows a try (1709) with Nvidia driver 388.31.
That's where the problems started. 

>The problem seems to only happen in Arma 3 Exile servers, and different servers are affected differently. (Singleplayer and KoTH as well as a server running ONLY exilemod do not seem to be affected) (Other games seem to run fine as well)
>I tested mainly across two servers, but I've tried 4 in total. 
Server A) FPS seemed to be normal, however it didn't feel smooth at all. Very choppy and stuttery. Often there would be long lengths of time where there was INTENSE stuttering. When observed in MSI afterburner the frametime would be constantly spiking up.
Even if the FPS was fluctuating within ~5-7fps (Steady), the frametimes would be fluctuating as much as 20-40ms. (Screenshot shown below)

http://s86.photobucket.com/user/Wooohah/media/Capture_zpsjgpy86wn.png.html

Server B) FPS was again normal. when stutters weren't happening, the game would run extremely smoothly and the FPS would be very high. However, every 45 seconds EXACTLY there would be a massive spike in frametime. When the frametime spikes, its like a short split second freeze or like it skips a frame.
(Screenshot here) http://s86.photobucket.com/user/Wooohah/media/Arma 3 frametime spikes infinity_zpsokjwd1bx.png.html?o=7
I tried another server (Server C) that was very similar to that, where the spikes seemed to have a pattern, but they were closer together, which made the game stutter much more.
(Screenshot here) http://s86.photobucket.com/user/Wooohah/media/Frametime Chernarus_zps7snsmfzx.png.html?o=5

Server D) Tried a different exile DayZ server, game would run smoothly apart from a random frametime spike here and there. 

 

Initially I blamed the poor performance on the Creators update and the new driver I was using. However I tried using my old driver (378.78) with the same results. (Also tried 385.69)
Disabled game mode/ gamedvr/ fullscreen optimization. I tried reinstalling 1607, I tried with and without Gsync/Vsync. 
I've tried installing drivers with and without Geforce experience, tried deleting MSI afterburner, etc.
I've made sure Microsoft C++/ NetFramework/ DirectX are installed. Everything is running on Max performance. Clock speeds on the GPU/ CPU look fine, all temperatures are in check. 

No matter what, the two main servers I tested (Server A and B) seemed to perform the same. I play on server A regularly and I noticed the large difference right away. I've played a lot on Server B as well before and Its arguably the best optimized Arma 3 Exile server out there.
I was always able to play before on the standard Ultra preset, 3K view/ object in 1440P. In Server A, I range between 30fps in towns up to 65-70fps in the air or going through more open areas. Unless there was a lot going on, it was usually smooth. Now I've found that I can be getting 50 FPS, but the frametime spiking will make it look like a choppy 20fps. 
I've played 1500 hours on the same settings, I know very well that server performance varies, but these are servers I've been playing on regularly, and I know the performance. (I also record with shadowplay a lot, so I can reference old video to make sure I'm not imaging things)

For the love of god above almighty, please help me with this, as Its honestly driving me nuts. Arma 3 Exile is the only game I play, so It doesn't matter if my other games work fine.

Specs: 
i7 6700k 
EVGA 1080 FTW 
16GB Gskill TridentZ 
ASUS Z170 Pro
Samsung 850 Evo SSD

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