What is the importance of the motherboard??

[LavenderBirch]

I have built a few PCs now, but when choosing a motherboard I have generally gone for mid to low end. I just look for something that supports the components I want and that's it really. I have never really understood or seen the importance of getting a good motherboard. I have always thought the high end ones just include on board graphics which I dont need. Am I wrong about this, does the motherboard have a larger effect on a build than I think

[cjloki]

my young  friend, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” / “The truth is often what we make of it; you heard what you wanted to hear, believed what you wanted to believe.” 

[Hamptonn]

A motherboard, also known as the "main board," is the central circuit hub that allows connection between all components and peripherals attached to the computer. It also allows all the components such as CPU, graphics card, hard drive and the memory to receive power from the attached power supply.

[Jeffrey79]

The motherboard is the most important component within a PC system. A motherboard is the main printed circuit board found in computers. It holds many of the crucial electronic components of the system, such as the CPU and memory and provides connectors for other peripherals.

[El_Capitan]

Most of the time it's if you want to overclock a particular CPU. The more durable the components, the higher quality it is, and you're more likely to overclock your CPU more efficiently, as well as having the motherboard working for years, and maybe even a decade or two.

Sometimes you may want a certain amount of PCIE slots, or it having a M.2 slot. Maybe you want better onboard sound, or onboard wi-fi. I typically don't look for these types of "extras", but most people do.