@drq > The stuff people actually buy a motherboard for.

I suspect that most of their customers don't need that. I worked in computer parts shops. 99% of sales are basic configurations - one/two banks of RAM, one drive, one/none of GPU. Even "gaming" setups.

At some point I noticed most motherboards getting more and more basic as well. Want to sell a little extra? Sure, let's put in some lights and twinkles because this is what people will see at the time of purchase and maybe during operation. Extra storage slots? 99% of people won't think of them as an advantage during purchase and maybe 10% will regret it couple of years later.

So I get why this is happening. We are just in minority and niche products are always shamelessly expensive.