Ngl im in the exact same boat with my 9600X build right now and it is honestly so stressful. I had a really bad experience where my last drive just quit on me after a few months... unfortunately it was a total nightmare losing my data and it really wasnt as good as expected. I have been obsessing over the technical side to make sure it doesnt happen again:

• DRAM cache is super important because it stores the map of where your data lives. Without it the drive wears out the flash memory way faster by constantly searching.
• Total Bytes Written (TBW) is the best way to see the actual lifespan. A higher number usually means higher quality nand chips that can handle more stress.
• Controller reliability is a huge deal too since cheap ones can overheat and cause data corruption which is what happened to me. I have been looking at the Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB or maybe the SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB because they seem safer than the usual budget stuff. Let me know if you find anything else tho because i am still pretty nervous about making the final call.

Just catching up here. To add to the point above about DRAM: I honestly have to disagree with the SATA suggestion from earlier. Putting a SATA drive in a 9600X build is kind of like putting budget tires on a high-end sports car. You are just leaving performance on the table for no reason. I would suggest being careful with older Gen4 drives though, as firmware bugs can really mess with long-term health if you dont stay on top of it. A couple of solid options that fit your budget:

• Crucial T500 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe
• Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe SSD Make sure to check for firmware updates right after you install windows. It honestly saves so much headache down the road if you want this thing to last five plus years. You got this, let me know if you hit any snags during the build!

Can confirm this works. Did the same thing on mine and its been solid ever since.

I've had issues with Crucial. Samsung 970 EVO is solid; got mine for $120 and still running great.

9600X loves fast storage! Forget SATA, aim for NVMe PCIe 4.0. Consider the Samsung 980 Pro (if you find a good deal). It's overkill for most, but future-proofs your build. Check its sustained write speeds – crucial for large files. If that's too pricey, a decent PCIe 3.0 drive will still be a HUGE improvement. Just verify motherboard compatibility!

Before diving in, are you SURE the 9600X *needs* NVMe? SATA SSDs like a Crucial MX500 are way cheaper and plenty fast for most. Save some cash!

For safety, consider Samsung 970 EVO. Had mine 5 years, no data corruption. Peace of mind is worth it, even if it stretches the budget a little.

Samsung's a safe bet. Crucial's cheaper, but maybe research reviews first? It depends!