How much should I spend on a motherboard?

Start with a reasonably priced board that has the connections you need. More expensive boards often add ports, storage slots, faster connections or other extras, not a meaningful speed boost by themselves.

Count your USB devices, check how many M.2 drives you want, and decide whether you need built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. Leave a little room for upgrades if you have a specific one in mind. A higher-end chipset isn't automatically faster for everyday use.

Don't buy purely by brand or chipset name. Look up reviews of the exact board, especially if you're pairing it with a power-hungry CPU.

The VRMs are the components that supply power to the processor. A board with inadequate power delivery or cooling can limit a demanding CPU under load. A modest board may be perfectly fine for a lower-power chip, though, so you don't need to pay for an overclocking-focused model by default.

Use a compatibility checker as a starting point, not the final word. Check the motherboard's CPU support list and whether it needs a BIOS update for your processor. Also confirm the RAM type, case size, cooler clearance and the connections your parts need.

BIOS flashback is a handy feature to look for. On supported boards it can let you update the BIOS without an already supported CPU installed. Check the manufacturer's instructions for the particular model.

For the rest of the build, saving money doesn't have to mean grabbing the cheapest part in every category. Check that the cooler can handle your CPU and fit the case, then compare RAM and SSD specifications with what you actually need. Reviews of the specific parts are more useful than a familiar logo alone.