With DDR5 RAM prices skyrocketing, some mid-range laptops could soon ship with budget-level specs. TrendForce expects companies like Dell and Lenovo to stock more notebooks with 8GB of memory. These reasonably priced options may no longer handle intense office and gaming tasks.
There are some in-between boards as well. I’ve an Intel 12th gen board that comes in DDR4 and DDR5 varieties. Either one will be an upgrade from an 11th gen, but it will be a bit faster with the DDR5 board.