I can not understand motherboards to save my life.

[terminaterg]

I'm in the middle of trying to build my first desktop and nothing i read can make me understand what is required when it comes to a motherboard. I've read a bunch of guides on here and reddit and a few other places but still don't get what motherboard is good or bad, what all i need for my motherboard and what anything on it means! Just someone helping me through this block would be nice, I can't be the only one who has had this trouble right?

 

[Gam3r01]

I will break it down as to my choices that I look at.
Processor brand, AMD vs Intel
Once you decide, pick a socket in question. LGA 1150 for intel, AM3+ for AMD are the most common, I can go more in depth if needed
After that, do you plan to SLI/Xfire
And lastly, Form factor. How big is your case

Once you decide these three/four things, you are typically narrowed down to under 10 boards, at which point you can read reviews.


Or the easier solution, simply pick what processor and graphics cards you want, and post them here. Users are more than happy to give suggestions and explanations.

 

[terminaterg]

The processor is: Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell Quad-Core 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54430,

My graphics card will either be the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, or Radeon HD 7870.

Also if the processor and graphics card don't go together I'm sorry. I'm brand new to this stuff and trying not to pull my hair out building my pc.

Edit: So if i go with a AMD processor this will be the setup.

Processor: AMD FD8350FRHKBOX FX-8350 FX-Series 8-Core Black Edition

Graphics Cards: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 WF 3X GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 DVI-I/HDMI/2x mini-DP Crossfire Ready Graphics Card GV-R797TO-3GD

As i research more and more i'll update.

 

[Gam3r01]

Thats a tough choice, a strong processor and a decent GPU, or an alright processor and a great GPU.

For the first option, I would recommend an ASUS Z97-A
For the second, ASUS M5A99FX Pro or evo.