Tbh it really depends on whether youre planning to push the clocks or just want stable stock performance. Also, what kind of I/O do you actually need - like do you need PCIe 5.0 for the primary M.2 slot or is 4.0 enough for your workflow? If you dont care about manual CPU overclocking, going B860 is definitely the smartest move for a budget 245K build. Here are a few solid value options: - ASRock B860 Steel Legend WiFi - usually has a very over-engineered VRM setup for the price point, great for sustained loads.
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE AX - if youre okay with mATX, this is basically the price-to-performance king for Arrow Lake right now.
- ASUS Prime Z890-P WIFI - if you find this on sale, its the best entry-level way to actually get the Z-chipset features without breaking the bank. Just keep an eye on the power delivery specs - you want something with decent DrMOS stages to keep the VRM thermals in check during heavy rendering or gaming sessions. Most of these handle the 245K easy tho.

I use the MSI MAG B860 Tomahawk WiFi, works well. Price under $200.

100% agree

Exactly what I was thinking