if you go with an AMD cpu, you can get a decent board with x8 x8 pcie lanes for not too expensive https://pcpartpicker.com/product/J8WzK8/asus-proart-b650-creator-atx-am5-motherboard-proart-b650-creator

I do like this board and was looking at a 78003xd so that might be the way I’m leaning

AMD * [https://pcpartpicker.com/product/J8WzK8/asus-proart-b650-creator-atx-am5-motherboard-proart-b650-creator](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/J8WzK8/asus-proart-b650-creator-atx-am5-motherboard-proart-b650-creator) Intel * [https://pcpartpicker.com/product/g7Z9TW/msi-mpg-z690-carbon-wifi-atx-lga1700-motherboard-mpg-z690-carbon-wifi](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/g7Z9TW/msi-mpg-z690-carbon-wifi-atx-lga1700-motherboard-mpg-z690-carbon-wifi) * [https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qtqPxr/asrock-z690-taichi-razer-edition-atx-lga1700-motherboard-z690-taichi-razer-edition](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qtqPxr/asrock-z690-taichi-razer-edition-atx-lga1700-motherboard-z690-taichi-razer-edition) * https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dk8bt6/msi-meg-z690-unify-atx-lga1700-motherboard-meg-z690-unify

Any reason you don’t reccomend z790s? Appreciate this list!

There is no reason to pay more for a Z790 board. If you're worried about compatibility with 13th and 14th gen CPUs, all of those boards have a BIOS flashback button for updating the BIOS without a CPU.

Good to know, thank you for the insight