I've got a better idea - I'll get a PC with the exact specs that I need rather than the specs that Tim Cook thinks he can force me to pay for, and save $50 a month to spend on other things. MacOS is nicer than Windows, but it is not 1984 anymore and these days Windows is just as capable if you're not scared of a bit of change.
If you only want to spend $3-5k on a machine, you wouldn't want or need enough DIMM slots, PCIe slots and Watts to put $30k worth of expansion in - but that's what the $6k MP is forcing you to buy. No you can't build a PC with the exact specs of the Mac Pro for $6k, but you can build a PC with comparable processing power and enough expansion for maybe a dual GPU, plus a decent amount of fast SSD for a lot less - especially if an AMD processor or even an i9 fits your needs. Sure, its gonna lose to the Mac Pro at Top Trumps when someone calls out "PSU Capacity" or "Number of Thunderbolt 3 ports" but if that's your criterion for buying a computer, you're holing it wrong.
NB: The 10 core iMac Pro is $5800, has 1TB SSD and a better GPU than the $6k Mac Pro and comes with a 5k screen, the equivalent of which will cost you $1300. Going by the Mac Pro benchmarks on Apple's site, the 28 core MP only beats the iMP in proportion to the number of cores, so a 10 core iMP with Vega is going to smoke the Mac Pro. So you don't even have to look beyond Apple to make the MP look silly - $2000+ extra for a slower machine with the privilege of being able to choose your own GPU and displays, or maybe add some extra internal storage. Maybe you do have to look outside Apple to understand that, in the real world, plain old full-sized towers are cheaper than ultra-compact all-in-ones full of custom parts and rocket-science cooling systems.
Lets translate that into "outside the bubble" language:
The expensive 15W mobile-class i5 CPU got replaced with a cheaper series desktop-class i3 CPU (look on ark.intel.com - the 8th Gen U- and Y- series low power i5s that would be the modern drop-in for the 2014 Mini are over twice the price - even the 2 core ones - of the i2-8100B). The bare minimum of RAM for 2014 got upgraded to the bare minimum of RAM for 2018 (probably about the same price) - which is a problem because the system RAM has to double as VRAM and the rise of 4k means that VRAM usage has quadrupled since 2014. The 500GB HD has been replaced with 128GB of PCIe SSD - which, in 2019, costs about $80 retail, pretty much in the same ballpark as 500GB of 2.5" spinning rust cost in 2014.
So, sorry, but that just about leaves the extra pair of TB3 ports to account for the markup. To repeat the point from above: outside of the reality distortion field, mobile/ultra-compact kit COSTS LESS THAN DESKTOP KIT. Congratulations - Apple are selling you a cheaper computer for more money. Cha-ching!
Not saying that a Mac Mini with a desktop CPU is a bad thing (although a Mac Mini with the feeble iGPU that is all Intel offers in desktop form is a problem) but $800 for an i-freaking-3 and 128GB of SSD is a joke.
Unless, of course, you don't expect price/performance of computer hardware to improve over the course of 4 years and are somehow impressed with the fact that the new Mini beats the 4-year old model (which was criticised as underpowered at the time).
If you don’t need or want MacOS, you can save some money buying a PC. That’s been true for decades. By all means, suit yourself. There are plenty of alternatives, and if you’re not someone who wants or needs a Mac Pro, I can’t imagine you’d want to buy one. Yes, spend your $50 somewhere else; Apple certainly doesn’t need your money lol.
But pros who need the power Mac Pro offers are champing at the bit to buy it. That’s not you, and that’s ok. But that doesn’t change the value equation for those who do. You don’t need or want MacOS, and there are plenty of PCs that you can get cheaper. Macs for those who want/need them (though more expensive) and PCs that are cheaper for you and others who don’t care about MacOS. It’s a win/win; no idea why you’re so angry about it.
Re: pricing on the mini—or Mac Pro for that matter—Apple’s hardware gross margin is less than 32%. After tax net profit margin is about 20%. (It’s been relatively constant for many years, actually slipping slightly over the past couple years.) That’s none too high, based on the relatively low valuation Wall Street places on Apple stock.
To hear people like you bitch about Apple’s pricing, you’d think they’re charging exorbitant prices. But that’s not true, is it? Here’s what is true:
Apple is a huge company, with 500+ stores, 140,000+ employees and a $1.5 billion a month R&D spend. That results in a certain cost structure, doesn’t it? News flash: Apple’s selling prices are high because their costs are high. It’s simple, isn’t it?
If you want to order parts from Newegg and build your own box, that’s awesome! Do it, and bask in knowledge of how much money you've saved. But that has zero to do with customers who need or want MacOS, does it?
Anyway, you seem to know a lot about the mini, you’ve probably looked at alternatives. Is there a decent competitor to the mini on the PC side? Not too thrilled with Dell and HP’s offerings, maybe I’m just missing it. The Intel stuff seems a little pricey. Maybe a mini is my best bet?