Hey everyone,
Just got my new dream machine PC up and running.
But I'm still noticing both dropouts in synth plugin playback and a sluggish behavior of Sonar in general.

I haven't done much to optimize things in Windows 10 Pro yet. Also, the project is from the saved Projects folder from the past system. Could the saved project be corrupted and causing Sonar to act sluggish? I don't notice it at all times just every now and then. The screen scrolling and movement seems jittery, not smooth, something that has always been the case with my Sonar unfortunately.
I'm hoping to buy the U-he Diva soft synth, which is known to tax CPU's very hard. Surely my latest gen hardware should be up to the task, right?
As always, if any of you agents are caught or killed, the agency will disavow any knowledge of your involvement.
Thank you and good luck, Jim! lol
New system:
MSI SLI Plus X299 motherboard
Intel Core i7 7820X (8 cores)
16gb Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4 3200 RAM
Samsung 960 EVO Pro M.2 SSD 512GB (OS)
Samsung 850 EVO SSD 250GB (storage)
WD Velociraptor 1TB HDD (storage)
MSI AMD RX580 4GB graphics
Focusrite Scarlett 18i8
Akai MPK261 keyboard controller
Sonar Platinum

Did you update the RX580's drivers yet (Not the disc that came with the card) but on MSI website ?
Here's the downloads page for the 4G:
https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/support/Radeon-RX-580-GAMING-X-4G#down-driver&Win10%2064
 I could be wrong but I also believe net framework 4.0 is required for this card. Windows update or go to the source(MS).
 
I would start there. If that doesn't work, make sure you have the latest Focusrite driver. I thought someone mentioned a beta was released a few months back. Im still using the original one (for the 18I8) but im using windows 8.1.

You should also go through Window's settings and turn off Game Mode plus check the USB settings and general power management settings. Be sure none of them is turning USB ports off to save power.
 
Updating drivers, power management settings and making sure there's no conflicting audio devices is about all you need to worry about in Win 10. You're system sounds great. 

Run Latency Monitor too: 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
But sounds like a graphic issue. 
And always a good idea when you have interup issues to disable your internet while troubleshooting. 
One thing a lot found was causing trouble is HD Audio driver. I think it drives the speakers built in monitors over HDMI , disable in device manager. 

Cool!
Chuckebaby, I think I got the right drivers from the AMD site, but I'll check again.
Ampfixer, thanks, I didn't even know there was a game mode. It's off. I used the do-it-all app "Live Update 6" they have for the motherboard drivers. It's supposed to update everything.
Johnny V, Yeah, I tried to avoid that HDMI driver from AMD by unchecking the box during the video driver install. But, Not only did it come through, but there's like 4 instances of it in my sound settings options!??
AND... Sonar crashed today for the 1st time with the new install. I tried to do a large drag-move and it crashed.
Thanks everyone, the journey continues!
Peace
 

Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

There must be driver issues.
Download the free Driver Booster. This always helps me to optimize my 4 DAWs:
https://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php
 
 
 

rodreb
Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Windows-10-Creators-Update-Your-DAW-is-not-a-Game-m3589217.aspx
or this
http://blog.cakewalk.com/windows-10-creators-update-your-daw-is-not-a-game/

A few other things:
1) turn off indexing on your drives (this can make a HUGE difference on sample drives)
2) give defender a chance to scan your entire system. It may take several hours before disk activity slows down on a new system.
3) turn off Anti Virus on sample drives, or at least see if it makes any difference
 
 

rodreb
Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

Be warned that the latest Creators Edition Update (1709) no longer includes the option to disable 'game mode', it now runs in automatic mode. However, it is possible to disable it via the registry.