Question Appropriate Laptop Performance for General Usage?

[Sportplus]

I'm looking to buy a budget laptop but I don't know how to determine what's "appropriate" in terms of real world performance.

I've been basing my decision on CPU benchmark scores from PassMark.
I feel like I'm confusing myself by doing this.

I'm coming from:

• HP ProBook 640 G1 with a i5-4300M cpu (cpu score on passmark is 2992)
• Macbook Air with a i7-5650U cpu (score on PassMark is 3170)

So this is what I'm "used" to in regards to real world performance.

I don't do much other than internet browsing (multiple tabs open, 5+), office work, movie streaming and some light photo editing.

So why am I looking at "budget" laptops with cpus like the Ryzen 5 4500u, Intel i5-1135G7 ?
(these all have scores that are triple, quadruple of what I'm used to operating with)

I'm really confused and don't know what to look at anymore.

My budget is around 600-700 CAD (500-600 USD).

Do i really need to spend that much though to get something performing a bit better than what I'm used to?

I just need some clarity here, super confused.

 

[punkncat]

What is going to throw the wrench is that photo editing. All the rest of it could be done on a Raspberry Pi...but then if you don't have any horses under the hood the photo editing could take well too long. If that is while "on the clock" it would be super undesirable. The other aspect here IMO will be screen quality by way of color accuracy.

The first thing I would look at would be minimum and suggested spec for the editing program you are using. Aside from that, consider the size screen you want, and such ergonomic issues.

Something that I did the last laptop I purchased....
I decided that, at the time, an i5 was going to offer the performance I wanted and still keep some amount of battery run time. I didn't need a dedicated GPU.
I researched everything that was available in my price range including used and refurb. I opted to go new, but purchased a machine with a HDD and half the RAM I wanted. I made sure the parts I wanted to swap weren't soldered in, which is very common now, and got a machine that I was able to add my own SSD and more memory to. I saved myself several hundred dollars in doing so.

I suggest that unless you are just deeply involved in the Apple ecology (as it were) that there is FAR more value in buying PC instead. Apple has a price for what I call "the smug". It doesn't mean it doesn't work well. IE, they limit the amount of hardware that works with their OS to purposefully control the experience, and it makes for stable machines that do what they do well, in most cases. I don't care for the planned obsolescence (among other things).

Also along that line you want to consider from a brand perspective what you expect from, what manner of support they offer, and things such as that. I have been a fan of purchasing Dell Inspiron or XPS machines when I can unless something really enticing is offered by way of price to feature elsewhere.

I wish you luck and serenity. The laptop space is very confusing in many ways.

 

[Sportplus]

@punkncat Thank you for such a great and detailed reply.

I don't have an affinity for apple products (I actually prefer to stay away from them).

Yes, the laptop space is definitely confusing and a bit overly convoluted in terms of options and pricing.

Basically this is what I'm looking for:

1. A good display with a high nits value (300+) and color accuracy (14inch preferred but not mandatory)
2. 8+ gigs of ram (the more the better, and hopefully it's not all soldered in (why do they do that!?)
3. 512GB of storage (SSD preferred)
4. GPU (no preference)
5. CPU = no idea (this part is what troubles me the most)
6. Webcam = must be good. (No hot garbage conference call quality)
7. Ergonomics ? (will mostly be stationed at a desk but would like to have the choice to be mobile)
8. Build quality = no preference (as long as it's not laughable)

If I could find all this within a budget of around 600-700 CAD (500-600 USD) or lower (preferred), that would be amazing.

I will keep researching but if anyone has any recommendations, I would greatly appreciate it.