I don’t want a better comparison, I want to replace my iMac with a headless desktop for under $3,000. I have a second big monitor at my desk for my work laptop

I don’t want a better comparison, I want to replace my iMac with a headless desktop for under $3,000. I have a second big monitor at my desk for my work laptop and I’d love to reclaim the real estate that the iMac is taking up. It was Apple’s choice to hamstring themselves with that form factor, not mine. Do I need to wait for Jonny Ive to retire to buy a normal $1500-$2000 Mac that I can use for programming, photo editing, casual gaming, etc?