That’s probably what I’ll do next time but there’s something nice about having it be a single thing on the desk, and the last two times I bought one it was cheaper than buying separate parts (trading longevity).

4k displays are peanuts these days. A Mac mini + a 4k display would cost about the same as an iMac. But in a few years when the mac mini is useless you can keep the same display.

Or if you buy a nicer mini then you can get a nicer display later on. The iMac is still limited the base M3 CPU, while the current mini is available in either M2 or M2 pro. Hopefully they update the Mini with M3 pro because that's what I've been waiting for.

I wouldn’t drop down to a 4K but the 5+K display market has also come down considerably so I think that’s also why Apple isn’t in a hurry to refresh the 27” since the sweet spot isn’t there any more.

My setup used to consist of a VESA mounted iMac Pro which was really nice since it doubled the amount of free desk space between having no separate computer and the whole unit floating thanks to the VESA arm. The arm also helped with keeping cables corralled in a way a monitor stand wouldn’t since it has channels for that.

VESA mount your monitor and mount your Mac Mini or Mac Studio under your desk.