The stupid answer is that a GPU is needed to get past POST. I need graphics to boot, and nothing more.
AMD has a "NUC-gap". At the high end, there's Epyc2 datacenter offerings, and going low there's the embedded line. And every device in between either assumes a discrete GPU (Ryzen 7) or is a wimp (G-series).
I built a beefy NUC-alike based on an Intel chip, because AMD has no offerings here. Google "Ryzen NUC" and the demand is evident.
