I would agree SOHO gear has stagnated big time, and yeah power draw is definitely not something to be overlooked. Latency is also kind of a thing. Newer gear can often be snappier while it uses less power. Now middle-grade enterprise gear is basically the same way. You can't really get a 24 port 10g switch for under $3000. The prices tell you everything. You buy the cheaper used gear and you pay the price in learning curve or tech dept.

Funny I did a little consumer hardware comparison. There is a reason the Ryzen 5900x is still holding it's price while everything else fell off. Because the price/performance (platform + memory included) isn't worth it. I've been looking for a cheap 5900x to upgrade my workstation to.