Definitely check out AMD, although I can’t recommend anything. If I was staying on Intel I might consider going down to 13th gen since they are almost equal performance with the new 14th gen and is way cheaper and uses less energy.

You can still get by just fine with DDR4 idk what people are freaking out about, plus DR5 boards are usually more expensive. But I get what they’re saying; if you’re buying a new motherboard might as well have it DDR5 compatible if you want to “future-proof” it. If you’re not strapped for cash I say go for that.