Motherboard selection part 1
In custom built computers, there's 5 major brands (but there are some other brands too that aren't as prominent). Gigabyte, ASRock, ASUS, MSI, and Supermicro. For a gaming or workstation computer, Supermicro only makes them for Intel processors. Only the server motherboards are built for Intel and AMD. The other 4 build motherboards for both AMD and Intel.
Each of these has their fans. For me, I've enjoyed the reliability and longevity of Gigabyte and if I had a reason for another custom computer, I'd like to try an ASRock. (Now read my update post.) But regardless of brand and model, there's some things you should know.
Don't base your decision on reviews. Human nature is geared towards instantly sending negative experience rather than a positive. There are often plenty of people who post great reviews. But for the negative, that one person's experience doesn't mean you'll run into the same. If you get a board that's dead on arrival, it happens. Send it back quietly and they'll send a replacement.
The reason people have problems and blame the motherboard are because of user error. Read the manuals, make sure you are not forgetting anything, get the right drivers, make sure your cables and cards, especially the video card are connected properly so that power and data are getting through. Anticipate issues along the way and deal with them calmly with a mind towards problem solving. If the computer powers on, but no display, something is still working. Keep searching for the issue. Most commonly it's something isn't fully connected.
Also in some cases, if you put in a newer series processor than when the motherboard was made, it may need a bios flashing.
For all the components you want to put into it, especially the processor, motherboard and video card, do your research. My suggestion would be, go to the manufacturer's website first. Look for the model you want. Look at the features and specs it has and get to understand them. Then go to Newegg.com. The reason I say check here is because they are very good at displaying the specs. Make sure everything matches up. Then you can check Amazon for the exact same model in case they have a good deal. I would not recommend going to Amazon or similar online retailer first because they are very inconsistent in reporting the specs or very accurately.
Part 2
If you are going to play games, and you want a full function computer with room for additions, don't bother with a mini (M) or ITX. Get a full size ATX motherboard. M or ITX generally come with less. Less PCI slots, hard drive SATA ports, and generally much less breathing room in the immediate area of the motherboard. Also, mid-tower cases accommodate full size motherboards.
With AMD, the chipsets go A320, B350, B450, B550, X370, X470, X570. Don't bother with the A320 and B350 to save money. These are the bottom bargain motherboards. There are a lot of features you won't get with these motherboards. Go at least with the B450, B550 which are decent performing mid-grades. Otherwise get an X chipset. My best advice is not skimp on the motherboard, but you can either go down slightly in processor and still have superb performance, or wait for something to go on sale. For example, I bought a AMD Ryzen 7 1700 for $159.99, and it is so close to the 2nd Gen 2600 and 2700, it's negligible, but was an incredible bargain.
If you want Intel, make sure you read carefully and match up the processor to the right socket motherboard, as there are more than one socket for Intel processors.
It is better to have more than less, in case you use it some day. Get as many SATA ports as you can, 6 or more preferably. 4 memory card slots rather than 2. More USB 2.1, 3.0 and 3.1. PCI slots and PCI-EXPRESS slots plenty instead of little to no. A reasonably priced motherboard should come with all these in decent supply.
A good motherboard to look for should have cooling/heatsinks for the chipset and many of the capacitors and other components directly on the board. Also, that the SATA ports aren't going to be blocked by anything including the video card. It's best if they are pointing out the side of the motherboard as opposed to up. Even though motherboards have been great in this regard overall, layout is very important. How items are positioned, if anything is going to get in the way of something.
Processor selection
If you do or want to run a bunch of programs all at the same time, you may want to consider a processor that is more powerful than what is suggested for gaming.
If you tend to do your activities relatively one at a time, meaning you game, then switch to web, then switch to video editing, then a 4-6 core processor is plenty for gaming. Nowadays, processors go up to incredible reaches of performance, so dropping down some to game on isn't a performance detraction, it's realistic.
Both AMD and Intel have 3, 5, 7, 9 lines of processors. The 9 series probably isn't necessary for a dedicated gaming computer, but you can if you want to and are happy to spend the money.
Intel tends to be more pricier than AMD in comparable models, but if you're aiming for Intel, Core i5 and Core i7 will be a good place to be. Try to find a good deal on a decent performance processor.
AMDs tend to go Ryzen 3=4 cores, 5=6 cores (but the lower end 5s can be a 4 core), 7=8 cores. I feel it's a bit of a gimick, but how many cores doesn't matter so much. The Ryzen 5 and 7s have clock speed, the amount of threads, a great amount of built in memory cache, and the performance you need.
The range of processor models that would work for a powerful and effective gaming computer are:
Ryzen 5 1600, 1600X, 2600, 2600X, 3600, 3600X
Ryzen 7 1700, 1700X, 2700, 2700X, 3700, 3700X
Ryzen 5 3500, 3500X
Ryzen 7 1800X
But 1400, 1500 and 2500 could be great choices if you find a good deal.
Honestly, 3700X would be the highest I could justify with cost in mind for gaming unless you do a lot of tasks all at once.
Search for a good deal. There are three generations of CPUs for AMD's Ryzen, and many in the 5 and 7 lines across three gens are similar in performance, one of them may be the best bang for the buck. Just do some price/spec side by side comparisons.
Memory
I'm not an expert on memory but I know what belongs in my computer. I go off of feel when I play games. I don't generally pay attention to frames per second. If the game is playing well, no stutters and stops, it's playing fluid and at the graphics level I want, I don't give anything a second thought. With that in mind, memory speed around what the processor is built for has done the job. Intel Core i7 and Core i9s support DDR4 2666 (MHz) and AMD is 3200. 3000-3200 memory for AMD will be in the $70-90 range for 16gb, and 4000-5000 speed memory will be $150-1000. Chances are us mere mortals won't notice much of a difference. Save the money, stick with 2666 to 3200 memory, use the money towards another component. Your video card is going to take on the challenges of the games you play with it's clock speed and amount of it's own onboard memory. Also, more memory is far more important than how fast, especially for sandbox games and games where a lot of things are loaded.
Video card
Currently at the time of this writing, a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 ti video card will play anything you want at 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. It's a remarkably powerful card for under $300. This is the card of choice for a perfectly running budget gaming computer.
But there are good deals out there.
Since the GeForce 10 series, everything is a gaming/enthusiast card. From the GTX 1050 to the GTX 1660 Ti to the RTX 2080 Ti. Here is a simple graph of the heriarchy of performance. All are PCI-EXPRESS 3.0 or greater, and should be DirectX 12.
(there could be some 11.x if they line up in performance to a competitor card)
I list as much as possible, just in case a great deal is found.
Lowest performing to highest performing
GeForce GTX 950
Radeon R9 280
Radeon R9 285
GeForce GTX 680
GeForce GTX 1050
GeForce GTX 690
GeForce GTX 770
GeForce GTX 960
Radeon R9 380
Radeon R9 280X
Radeon Pro 570
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Radeon R9 380X
Radeon RX 570
Radeon Pro 580X
GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
Radeon Pro 580
Radeon RX 580X
GeForce GTX 780
GeForce GTX 1650
Radeon RX 470
Radeon R9 290
GeForce GTX TITAN Z
Radeon R9 290X
Radeon RX 5500
Radeon R9 295X2
Radeon RX 480
GeForce GTX Titan
Radeon R9 390
Radeon RX 580
GeForce GTX TITAN Black
Radeon RX 5500 XT
GeForce GTX 780 Ti
Radeon RX 590
GeForce GTX 970
Radeon R9 Fury
GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
Radeon R9 390X
Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
GeForce GTX 1060
GeForce GTX 980
Radeon RX5600
GeForce GTX 1660
Radeon Pro Vega 64
Radeon Pro Vega 48
Radeon Pro Vega 56
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
GeForce GTX TITAN X
GeForce GTX 1070
Radeon RX Vega 56
Radeon RX 5600 XT
NVIDIA TITAN X
GeForce GTX 980 Ti
GeForce GTX 1070 Ti
GeForce RTX 2060
Radeon RX 5700
Radeon RX Vega 64
GeForce GTX 1080
GeForce RTX 2070
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER
Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary
Radeon RX 5700 XT
TITAN V CEO Edition
Radeon VII
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
TITAN Xp COLLECTORS EDITION
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
NVIDIA TITAN Xp
GeForce RTX 2080
TITAN RTX
TITAN V
GeForce RTX 2080 ti
A brief talk about where to find good deals
You can bu your components new or used. New is safe because if there's a problem, there will be some return/exchange option. Typically, I don't buy motherboards used. The price is generally good, and used options generally aren't that much cheaper. But you never know. But I have found good deals on processors and video cards in eBay, offerup, letgo, facebook marketplace, ect. You are taking a bit of a risk buying used, but you can establish with the seller how well the item was taken care of, it worked last before being pulled, and establish a dialog with the person in case something went wrong. I bought my latest video card from a computer tech on ebay who repurposes components. I got a very good deal and the card works perfectly. If you stick to buying new, just like I said before, look at the manufacturer for specs, then you can look at different sites for a good deal.
Monitors in regard to your video card
I'm not going to dictate what screen resolution and frames per second your chosen card will only do. Experience and results will vary a little bit. If you have a 1660 ti and want a 2k or 4k monitor, go for it. I'm not going to tell you no, and nobody else should either. There are plenty of older games and less video graphics demanding games that will run great at high resolution. If a newer graphics demanding game runs poorly at 4k, the game resolution can be dropped down to 2k or 1k and look good. 4k in the 24-28" monitor size is becoming attractively priced, so why would I disparage anyone from doing it? You could jump up to a higher performance video card down the road.
If you stick with a 24 to whatever-you-want size 1080p monitor, GTX 1650, 1660, 1660 Ti, Radeon RX 580 or card similar to that in overall performance will be great for most anything.
For nvidia, I have found EVGA, Gigabyte and Zotac brands to be very good on build quality and reliability. ASUS and MSI are fine too. You can look at reviews, ignore the reviews where something is wrong and blame the manufacturer but it's most likely caused by user error. Look at good reviews and note similarities of the card's user experience and observations of quality. Same thing goes for AMD based cards.
Hard drive strategies
A mechanical hard drive alone to boot and operate Windows on is the weakest (slowest) link. Nowadays, solid state drives are incredibly inexpensive.
Upgrade vs. near overhaul
Scenarios:
Core upgrade:
Going to a new platform processor and motherboard and memory, video card fine, hard drives fine. This can be a reasonably inexpensive upgrade.
Gaming improvement upgrade:
New processor, motherboard, memory, video card. Video card can increase the overall cost a lot.
You like your current case, but new video card doesn't:
You bought a new video card for your current system, your old video card looks plenty big, and fits your old case. Oops! New video card dwarfs your old, and won't fit due to the older fixed drive slots. Time for a new case.
Got your upgrades, but power supply got in the way:
Your video card requires PCI-Express power connectors your power supply doesn't have. Time for a new power supply with the right connectors.
These scenarios can be either easy or unexpected. It happens.
It's pretty common to keep the hard drives since they were fine before.
But if your windows installed drive was a mechanical hard, switching to a solid state drive can improve performance significantly.
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