Something else to consider kook, after reading this article on the Spectre and Meltdown attacks focused primarily on kernel streaming security processing flaws targeting all Intel CPU's, older consumer grade AMD's, and some ARM processors with the OS installed on solid state hard drives.
Here's a link for a detailed explanation. I personally rate this article as a MUST read. (It's also written in Plain Speak), i.e. you don't have to be a tech geek to understand it.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/spectre-and-meltdown-insecurity-at-the-heart-of-modern-cpu-design/ And what's particularly troublesome is the "fix" itself causes a rather weighty blow to system performance.
And so the only safe way to really determine if this "fix"
may be causing your problems would be to roll back
Windows to the exact
state it was in before the
problems occurred.
Doing this procedure is NOT a complete system restore. Windows keeps on file a list all known successful system configuration "Boot Ups" (boot records) that date back to a month or so.
All you have to do is choose a time right before you started noticing/having the problems.