Need some help deciding on a laptop purchase

Look, I haven't kept up with the laptop market in ages. Honestly, I am completely out of the loop here, so I desperately need some expert advice...
Since I’m heading over to the USA for a month in mid-February, I want to take full advantage of being there to pick up a high-quality machine—especially if I can stumble upon a killer Deal or catch one of those random deep discounts you see floating around...

Here is what I am wrestling with:

Should I just go all-in on the Intel Core i7-12700H without hesitation? Or, looking at the price-to-performance ratio, does it actually make sense to settle for an Intel Core i5-12500H or even last year's Intel Core i7-11800H? How do those two bottom-tier options stack up against the 12700H in terms of raw power, and how do they compare to each other?

And what about the AMD side of things? How have the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS and Ryzen 7 6800HS performed when pitted against the Intel Core i7-12700H, and subsequently against those two weaker Intel models I mentioned? I am talking strictly about pure performance first, and power consumption second.

If I have to make a compromise, which path is smarter: dropping down to a slightly weaker processor to squeeze in a better GPU, or stepping down a notch on the graphics card? I won't go any lower than a 3060, but my priority would be hitting that 3070 sweet spot if the budget allows.

The brands I'm eyeing for a potential purchase are ROG Strix, ROG Zephyrus, maybe Aorus, or a Legion. My real question is: what do MSI and Acer actually bring to the table in that premium tier? I've always felt like you're more likely to run into a Nitro vs Predator situation than anything truly top-tier from them.

As for usage, this will be my daily driver for work, supplemented by some light gaming—mostly RPG titles like Elden Ring or The Witcher 3.

By then, we might see Intel's 13th gen hitting the market—mostly just a rebranding mixed with some new chips, but definitely an upgrade over the 12th gen.

Check out what kind of deals are actually out there and let me know. Trying to guess blindly like this is a thankless task.

It’s definitely coming, but let’s be real—since it’s going to be brand new, the price tag is going to be absolutely eye-watering at launch. I honestly don't see prices dropping anytime soon for the 12th generation either; during my time living in the States, things just didn't move that fast.

Look, there are Deals out there, but here’s the kicker: most of the good ones aren't even offering shipping. It's all "in-store pickup" nonsense, which basically means you're looking at buying from Amazon, Best Buy, or praying that someone else actually ships to your door...

wiredotter14 said:By then, we might see Intel's 13th gen hitting the market—which looks like a messy blend of rebranding and actual new silicon, but hey, it’ll still likely outperform the 12th gen.

Look, just check out what kind of deals are actually on the table before jumping to conclusions. Trying to predict this stuff blindly is a fool's errand.

So, the 13th gen finally dropped, but given how absolutely insane prices are right now, I finally bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on a Razer Blade 15 (Core i7-12700H, RTX 3070Ti 150W TDP, 16 GB DDR5, 1 TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, 16" 2560x1600 165Hz 500 Nit Display) for $1,529 including tax...