No gaming controllers work on my desktop. Same controllers work on laptop

I have a custom-built desktop PC running a fresh install of Windows Home. The mobo is a little older, maybe 6 or 7 years.

I also have a brand new Surface Book 2.

On the latter, everything "just works." I have two ds4’s and a N30 pro (controller made by a company called 8bitdo, looks like an SNES-ish controller). I can plug them in by USB, I can use a bluetooth connection, it all just works.

On my desktop, not so much. They’re finicky. One minute they’re connected, the next they’re not recognized. Input frequently just… drops, so a command will be recognized, then two seconds later it won’t be. Since the desktop doesn’t have any native bluetooth, I also purchased the 8bitdo pairing dongles to pair with the controllers. These also work perfectly fine on my laptop with either ds4 or the N30 pro. I’ve made sure they’re up-to-date, I’ve made sure Windows is up-to-date.

The thing is, even plugging in controllers doesn’t seem to work. I can plug in the N30 pro by USB-C it flickers in and out of connection. The ds4s are simply not recognized like 80% of the time. Plugging either of these controllers into my Surface works perfectly fine.

It seems as if the drivers these controllers use are somehow failing to talk to the system properly, but I’m not sure how to address.