Need advice for a new PC build

First off, hello everyone!

I'm currently in the middle of putting together a brand-new PC build—after spending quite a few days diving down the research rabbit hole, I think I've finally nailed down these components:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MQ7BXH

So, I'm reaching out because I could really use some expert advice—specifically, will all of this work together smoothly? I'm hoping to avoid any nasty compatibility issues or anything of that nature. I haven't included a power supply in the list since I'm planning to repurpose my current one (which should fit the case, too). Also, if anyone could give me their take on how reliable sites like Newegg, Best Buy, and Amazon actually are... that would be amazing. If you've ordered parts from them before, please let me know what the experience was like—was the shipping process easy, or did you run into any headaches with your delivery?

Thanks so much in advance!

Buying this CPU right now feels like a bad move; you could probably find something twice as good for the same price. There are definitely more cost-effective SSD options out there too.

Regarding shipping, it’s reliable enough, though I suspect you'll get hit with an extra 25% in sales tax and customs if it's coming from the USA 😬

Sometimes you can snag a killer deal on sites based in Austria or Germany that ends up being cheaper than local prices here. Where are you located anyway? 😛

So, twenty-five percent on every single component? That seems steep! And does anyone know what the customs duties look like? I mean, when it comes to the processor, there really isn't much of an alternative, is there? I'm actually calling in from Cleveland at the moment—maybe I should just stick to local options? Does anyone have any advice on how I might go about ordering those parts from Germany instead?

SSDs are still relatively new tech, so just shell out a few extra bucks and go with Intel. They might be a bit slower and offer less capacity for the price compared to the competition, but they're easily the most reliable option.
Personally, that's how I'd play it.

Go ahead and find me a single review where an Intel SSD actually outperforms a Samsung one!!!

Alexander Moore67 said:Try finding me a single review where an Intel SSD beats out a Samsung one!!!

Look, technically speaking, Intel SSDs might be slower than Apple drives—I already said that—but when it comes to brutal testing and actual quality control? They’re the gold standard.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:If you look at the raw specs, Intel SSDs might lag behind Apple, which I mentioned earlier, but when it comes to rigorous testing and strict quality control, they’re still top-tier...

Just show me an actual review then.

Alexander Moore67 said:just find me a review

They're all over the web. Check YouTube if you want videos. I'm not your personal search engine.

Yeah, back when I was picking up an Intel 520, the Samsung EVO was pretty much the big thing everyone was talking about. But man, those things only came with a 3-year warranty at the time. I kept hearing from everyone that Intel drives just lasted longer, and honestly, I think their maintenance software is top-tier. Now that Apple is offering a 5-year warranty, and since Intel seems to be moving away from traditional SSDs toward those M.2 sticks for motherboards... I mean, I’ll always be a fan of the classic SSD format. But honestly, whatever you grab is probably going to be great. I even saw that Apple released a model with a 10-year warranty, which sounds absolutely killer. Still though, that Intel 520? Best SSD ever, hands down. 🙂 Sure, it might be like 2 seconds slower during bootup, but does it really matter if we're talking about 11 seconds versus 14 seconds? That's just stuff people obsess over when they're hardcore benchmarking. In any normal, everyday use, you wouldn't even notice. 😉

It was a decent enough deal, mainly because of that five-year warranty and a reasonable price tag, but calling it the greatest of all time is a massive stretch. Honestly, the whole conversation surrounding Intel SSDs feels pretty moot at this point since they barely have a mainstream drive worth recommending to anyone. Their closest offering would be the NVMe 600p, but its benchmark numbers aren't exactly groundbreaking for an NVMe drive. At that point, it just doesn't make sense—you can practically pick up a 240GB or 250GB SATA drive for about what they're asking for a measly 128GB model.

Timothy Kim60 said:It was a decent buy, mostly because of the 5-year warranty and fair pricing, but calling them the best ever is a stretch. Honestly, the whole Intel SSD conversation is dead now since they don't really have a mainstream drive to recommend anymore. Their closest thing is the NVMe 600p, but its benchmarks aren't anything special. It doesn't make sense—you can almost grab a 240GB SATA drive for what you'd pay for their tiny 128GB model.

Exactly. Back when they were actually dropping new SATA series regularly, their testing was top-tier. They were basically the only ones running hardware tests as rigorous as Samsung's.