I'm discussing gaming because it's a valid point since many high end home desktops are purchased for gaming and Apple isn't in that market. You know forums where people bring up topics as to why something would work or not work. I guess you can just keep saying I'm the only one bringing it up if you don't have anything else to say about it though.
Apple sells the mini for almost $1000. Any mid tower desktop they produce will start at over $2000. That'll be with lower specs. In the world of Windows computers there's nothing low or mid range about a computer that starts at $2000. You can get a Windows desktop starting under $500 and a very nice setup for $2000. This will be what they're competing with. Again is there a market for a $2000 plus desktop from Apple? I honestly don't know but I suspect it's not a very good market.
They could have provided an upper and an lower configs with different MOBO and power supplies. Or even two completely independent models altogether, other manufacturers have no problem doing this as long as the market sees fit. The issue with Apple is that they can't "afford" or are not willing to do more than one base config, so with the priority on not having an upper performance ceiling, the result is the lower end gets pushed way higher than Mac Pro has traditionally been at.
I'm not asking about what Apple sells. I'm asking about the low and mid-range home desktops that other manufacturers offer for sale. Is it your opinion no one buys these systems?
How can you buy what is not available to purchase? The best we can say is there is strong demand for the 4,1 and 5,1 Mac Pros.
I think they have some sales but not very much. My mom has what I would call mid rage at about $1000 and I suspect some older people buy them. Out of all the people who own desktops I think she's the only one that would fall into that category. Of course I'm not aware of any studies on this. So because people buy low to mid rage desktops what does this have to do with Apple? You know the same hardware specs on an Apple computer will cost you at least 50 percent more compared to some of the more budget friendly Windows PC.
If I understand your argument you're stating there is insufficient demand, outside of the high end systems used by gamers, for a home desktop system and therefore Apple can't justify making one. I am pointing out that there is sufficient demand in the low to mid-range that other manufacturers can justify offering one.
What evidence suggests the latter is no? Keep in mind when I refer to "home desktop market" I am referring to a system similar to the 1,1 - 5,1 Mac Pro.
The fact Apple has chosen to avoid offering such a product does not mean there is no demand for it nor that they couldn't make their customarily high profit margins from it. HP offers the Z4 and Z6 series systems which, IMO, demonstrate a demand for such a system. Likewise they're not $299 systems. It's my opinion Apple created the 7,1 Mac Pro for mindshare. A mid-range system as being discussed here wouldn't achieve that.
Apple refused to make a large screen iPhone for a number of years therefore there was no market for it?
The Z4 would fit nicely in between Mac Mini and Mac Pro. As for the Z6 it might not, in your opinion, fit between the Mac Mini and Mac Pro but its entry price fits in there.
Why would they eat into iMac / iMac Pro sales? Perhaps because there is a demand for such an offering?
Not the right question.
Why does the case need to open for a BTO? There are BTO options for every Mac in the line right now, and none of them open easily and some come with key components soldered to the board. This kind of design isn't important for BTO, it's important if the customer needs to tweak it when it's in their hands.
I think I may have been unclear in my statement then. I don't think MP was designed for tinkerers and hobbyists, I think it was designed for the few users that have an existential need to add custom hardware inside the box. I think the point is less about the fact that the graphics card is removable and more about the other 6 PCIe slots. Once you're going to support those, you may as well let the user pull the GPU too if it makes them happy. And, as you say, it's priced to separate out those who really need that access from those who merely want to play.
