kwikit

Recently built some work PC's with the i7-4930K. If we were using software that was reasonably multithreaded, we'd have picked Xeon's, but since most tasks still run singlethreaded, went with the 4930K. Great little processor. Love the speed. I still wonder if I should have spec'd the E5-1650 instead, for the FP unit.

I use 2 screens, have since Windows NT days. Since about 2005, I've been using Dell 2405FPW. Still work great, love the matte screen. I've always had them turned down in brightness. Friends have tried other brands, but end up having problems. I personally think Dell monitors have had a price / performance edge, and although I haven't used the latest batch of wider color gamut monitors, the new Dell high end monitors sound tempting. Not till these 2405's give up the ghost I guess... cost about $1250 each to get them delivered. In 2005 money, that was a lot of cash.

I've always had great luck with the Sennheiser's. I've not used any of the products you listed, but I've tried various headphones / earbuds from multiple companies and always return to Sennheiser for their sound and general comfort. If you haven't tried these out yourself, you really should go find a place where you can listen to the headphones... if that's not possible, don't underestimate both, comfort and sound. Find the right size and coverage type of your liking, and then the best sounding ones. I personally prefer lightweight, on the ear or earbuds. I don't like the ones that weigh a lot, have lots of padding, surround your ear, etc. Hot and heavy, but they can block out a lot of stray sound. I'd rather not know I'm wearing headphones, personally.

There might be some obscure firmware embedded onto the hard drive when the drive was used as an external drive. You can grab a low level format utility that will erase everything except the manufacturers code section, run that and see if it helps. Alternately, make sure you're not using a RAID slot or some other specialized port on the motherboard by accident. If you're using just an SATA port by default, try load driver and pick the Microsoft SATA driver or the Intel SATA driver and see if that happens to kick it over. Dumb as it might sound, double check the cables are in there securely and all the way in at both ends.

I second or third the suggestion to get the ACX version of the 780. I have the 780 SC ACX and those things are quiet. The cooler does a great job getting rid of heat. And the card is plenty fast stock. Price is great right now since it's getting to be a bit older in the US.

Stick with the Titans. The TI is an upgrade to the 780's but the Titans are still the top of the heap in many ways.