@3ddab33a ok i'll bite.

the equation now vs when the pi first came into this world is totally different.

first, it's not starting at $35 anymore
second, a 5 year old PC in 2012 was? a core2duo? a 5 year old machine now (the tired mini PCs) are 6th-8th gen intel systems which are orders of magnitude more powerful than any SBC. 
third, i don't buy the power arguments either. i have an 8th gen SFF mini PC on the bench that draws ~7w at idle. that's only a hair more than a Pi 4, and the pi5 is going to be hungrier than that.

the only arguments that keeps the pi relevant are community and integrations. you are well aware of the pi community effect and the integrational use cases that pi is so popular for - things that need GPIO pins or that specific form factor.

but if you had to pick a 5 year old x86 box for $100, or a raspberry pi 5 (don't forget the $100 in accessories alone), the choice is obvious isn't it? performance, reliability, expandability, compatibility, and so much more. 

 @cbf0362a I won't take any issue with most of those points, but the idle power consumption is about 1.6W on Pi 4 and 1.8W on Pi 5, which is 4x nicer for any use case where power consumption is a major concern.

But my point was more surrounding the whole concept of the X86 PC being comparable to the Pi (it is and it isn't). I do have three mini PCs now and I love them.