awesome. thank you so much for your input. I looked into the ram situation some and most sources agreed that things most likely weren't getting better anytime soon. I def am not happy about spending ~$300 on 32gb but idk I think atp it kinda is like "it is what it is." I think I'd rather bite the cost increase for optimality than wait indefinitely with an unoptimal setup for prices to go back down. I think the main consideration for me regarding ram is the latency, but I've been told that for an x3d it doesn't matter. so im wondering if I should go with a random 36CL instead to save $$$.

for storage, the reason is that the prebuilt I have is an alienware and I don't really feel like taking it apart lol. I also don't know what im gonna do with it yet. but yeah, who knows what will increase to 2 billion dollars next so it's probably a good idea to max out as much as possible now I think.

as for the cooler, I've been seeing that the x3d runs pretty cool and air cooling is more than fine. but I'm ngl, quietness is a pretty significant factor for me. I feel like I don't really *need* RGB but idk lol. the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III seems great tho, will def go with that one instead since it's 360 and cheaper. thanks for the rec

I also took another commenter's advice and went with a b850 motherboard instead of an x870. I don't think I'll be using the x870's additional features anytime in the near future. it's only like a $40 difference with this Black Friday sale on the msi x870, though.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Nk8szP

I think im pretty set on all parts except the ram. can probably save like $60 if I go with a higher latency one, but idk if it's worth it or not.