Unable to Optimize ArmA 3 to My liking...

[EveryEmpireFalls]

First, my full PC specifications. Note- it is a CyberPower Built PC, I have added in my full peripherals:
BLUETOOTH: Yes (Don't know the Model)
CABLE: None
CARE1: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
CARE2: Cooler Master Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]
CARE3: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+5]
CAS: EVGA Hadron Liquid Gaming Case
CASUPGRADE: Flexible LED Interior Light Strip [+19] (Red Color)
CD: EVGA 24X Slot-Loading DVDRW
CPU: Intel(R) Core™ i7-4790K 4.0 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified)
DOCKINGSTATION: None
FAN: EVGA Liquid Cooling for Hadron
FLASHMEDIA: None
FREEBIE_TB: None
GLASSES: None
SSD: 256GB ADATA SP610 SSD
HDD2: 3TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo (Combo Drive)[strike][/strike]
HEADSET: Razer Tiamat 2
KEYBOARD: Razer Blackwidow Chroma
MB_SRT: None
MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance [+72])
MONITOR: x2 ASUS VE278Q 27" Full HD 1920x1080 2ms DisplayPort HDMI DVI-D VGA Back-lit LED Monitor
MOPAD: Tt eSports Dasher Gaming Pad [+15]
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini-ITX w/ 802.11ac WiFi + BT 4.0, Dual GbLAN, 1 PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s (Pro OC Certified)
MOUSE: ROCCAT Kone XTD
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
NFC: Unknown
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit Edition) + Office 365 FREE 30 Days Trial [+31] - THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO LATEST WINDOWS 10 -
POWERSUPPLY: 500 Watts - EVGA 500 Watts 80 Plus Gold Power Supply
SERVICE: EXTENDED SERVICE PLAN: 4-YEAR [4 Year Labor, 2 Year Parts] SERVICE PLAN PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: secondary Creative Speakers
TUNING: Unknown
TVRC: Unknown
USBFLASH: Yes
USBHD: Yes
VIDEO: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) [+292] (Single Card)

Backstory:
I am a near-exclusive ArmA 3 player. I total well over 1400 hours of it logged through steam. After a short ~2 month break from the game, of playing Fallout and R6 Siege, I have resumed heavy play of Arma.
After a few days of play I noticed that my computer wouldn't render frames nearly as often as it had - I was getting FPS drops. This has occurred primarily when multiple sources of gunfire [in game] trigger a frame drop. To the effect of there are maybe 75 bullets in the 'air' of the rendering. So over the past ~3 weeks I have been dealing with frame drops during what are really important moments for the game, meaning I lose reaction and reaction time because of the FPS loss.
This also happens when I enter an area with a large number of objects, buildings, units, et cetera. Places such as cities, almost exclusively.

Question:
How can I improve my average Frames per Second AND reduce or even eliminate the frame drops from gameplay? I fail to understand what is suddenly causing my FPS losses. My only other thought that could be possible, to my understanding, would be an update to Arma 3 that changed the performance.

To keep this short:
I will happily provide loads more information if requested. I have plenty more information about my habits with the game, the performances of hardware and software, and - again - plenty more areas.

Any response appreciated.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Just a quick note, please don't give ALL that detail. We don't need every single spec of your PC. All you need to give us is the main components (CPU, GPU, RAM, mobo, HDD/SSD, PSU, monitor, OS and that's it).

Here are a few things to try:

1. Update your GPU drivers.
2. Make sure everything is up to date, including all your drivers like your chipset and your BIOS.
3. Arma 3 is steam right? Try to verify the files within steam.

DId you change any of the graphical settings within the game when you started playing it again?

 

[EveryEmpireFalls]

Sorry, wanted to be through.

1) Already done.
2) Also done.
3) Yes it is Steam. I have validated all the files with success.

And the only setting I have changed is occasionally switching FROM 'fullscreen windowed' to 'fullscreen'.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Well, my last option to give you is to try and reinstall the game completely.