What constitutes a "good/great" motherboard?

h1r0ll3r

I see mobos ranging anywhere from $200-$1000+ and I'm curious to know if higher price equates to a better mobo? I recently finished my build using a ASRock Riptide as it seemed to check off all my boxes for a mobo. Intel 14th gen compatible, DDR5 capable, wifi 7, lots of storage options, PCIe 5.0 and the price was about right. However I found myself questioning, should I have gone for a more expensive board? I see lots of posters (usually) getting an ASUS Hero/Dark Hero or MSI board for their builds. I have a 14900k/4090 in my build and am wondering if the mobo I picked was good enough or should I have ponied up and gotten a better board? I'm sorta new to PC building, however, I believe I made a decent choice but just curious to see I should've gone with another board/brand?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@h1r0ll3r

Specifically on the gaming side there are going to be two things that affect price.

1. I/O expandability options. Higher end onboard controllers, like LAN/Audio/WIFI.
2. VRM. More phases, higher quality mofsets/chokes/caps. Built for overclocking and won't effect normal usage.

For instance on the Riptide: 12+2+1 Power Phase, 50A Dr.MOS with Enlarged Heatsink Armor.

Versus the B650E Taichi: 24+2+1 Power Phase, 105A SPS for VCore+GT with Enlarged Heatsink Armor.

It's not going to affect you for normal usage, including gaming. The Riptide still has plenty over overclocking potential, especially on AMD. 24/7 overclocking on air or water, you're going to be thermally limited. There's more to be gained performance wise from undervolting. The Taichi is more built got extreme overclocking.