CPU Spikes. It's driving me nuts

I keep getting random CPU spikes that cause audio glitches when they happen. This happens with as little as 3 audio tracks in a session, and it will even happen when nothing is being played or recorded. So I can just open a project and let it sit there with nothing at all being used in the session, and eventually, usually within a few minutes, the red 100% CPU spike will pop up on the performance meter’s “Average Load”. It makes no sense.

I’m running Cubase 10.0.60 on Windows 10 built 1909. My interface is a Motu M4 with the buffer set to 256. I just replaced my very old Emu 1212M with the Motu hoping it would fix this issue. It didn’t

My computer is a Dell Optiplex 990 with the following specs

CPU
Inel Core i7-2600 3.4Ghz

Memory
16GB DDR3

HDD
Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB

I have updated the drivers and Bios. I’ve removed all unnecessary programs including Antivirus. I’ve killed all unnecessary startup programs. I’ve set the power state on my computer to the Steinberg Performance Mode. I’ve tried disabling all CPU options in Bios such as MT, Turbo, and C-State. I’ve also tried ASIO Guard on all settings and turned off.

Do any of you know of any good analysis programs that might show me what’s happening when the spikes occur? I’m at my wits end with this.

Thanks

the program latencymon may give you some insights.

WIFI cards/network/graphics drivers especially can cause grief.
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

I appreciate the reply but after demoing Studio One, I have decided to jump ship. Cubase has been unstable on my system for awhile now, and their pricing is starting to get ridiculous when compared to the competition, so it’s time for me to say goodbye.