Windows 10: Xonar DSX sound cut / DPC latency issues

I installed a Xonar DSX in my current build, and I've been troubleshooting it since. I'll be going with onboard for my next one, but I bought this, and yeah, i'd like it to work.

Originally it wasn't recognized by system, but fixed EEPROM issue via link below:
Xonar EEPROM Failure - AlsaProject

Following this fix, i got it to function, but since then, I keep getting random sound cracks/drops - it sounds like my output gets set to 50% randomly and then readjusts.
Read this was a driver issue/conflict:
-tried Unified drivers from Maxedtech, didn't help, and most recent version included Hata Region Unload Virus- cleared and reinstalled from Asus site
-read that this was associated w/ Nvidia driver conflict creating higher DPC latency, removed Nvidia HD Audio and this helped some, lowered the frequency of drops, but I still get issues after ~30 min.
-also read it could be an issue w/ the Nvidia power saver, adjusted settings for full performance and saw no improvement.

I know this is an old card, and it seems this issue dates back at least 4-5 years in various forms, but I'm hoping someone else may have figured it out by now. I've posted my most recent DPC report from LatencyMon below. I'm not really sure how to interpret/what to do next - any help is appreciated!

Cheers,

CONCLUSION
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Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:39:34 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


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SYSTEM INFORMATION
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Computer name: BLINKERS
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 17134 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz
Logical processors: 8
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 32708 MB total


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CPU SPEED
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Reported CPU speed: 4008 MHz
Measured CPU speed: 8 MHz (approx.)

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.



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MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
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The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 965.50
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3.836401

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 959.10
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.371758


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REPORTED ISRs
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Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 736.480539
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.072128
Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.074828

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 553268
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 1
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


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REPORTED DPCs
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DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1504.22480
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: cmudaxp.sys - C-Media Audio WDM Driver, C-Media Inc

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.381455
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: cmudaxp.sys - C-Media Audio WDM Driver, C-Media Inc

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.546710

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 10083940
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 2047
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 5
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


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REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
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Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.


Process with highest pagefault count: none

Total number of hard pagefaults 0
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 0
Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 0.0
Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0.0
Number of processes hit: 0


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PER CPU DATA
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CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 85.287013
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 736.480539
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 14.209122
CPU 0 ISR count: 552476
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 968.883483
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 31.557365
CPU 0 DPC count: 7302199
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CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 65.480297
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 98.361028
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.002270
CPU 1 ISR count: 793
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 318.671657
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 3.641999
CPU 1 DPC count: 160359
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CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 73.324617
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR count: 0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 345.549152
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 18.728488
CPU 2 DPC count: 728739
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CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 69.610473
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 435.684631
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 3.904150
CPU 3 DPC count: 164484
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CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 65.337923
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1504.22480
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 21.349780
CPU 4 DPC count: 791067
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CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 57.159602
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 308.965818
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 3.245349
CPU 5 DPC count: 138918
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CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 59.706497
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1236.846307
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 17.635644
CPU 6 DPC count: 649290
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CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 54.236992
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 331.531687
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 3.769086
CPU 7 DPC count: 150936
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:)