Most people look at computers as a commodity that needs to perfectly balance performance and price; most really expensive computers usually are acquired by professionals that do need the specs and within small time, it gets paid off quickly.
I have a 16" Macbook Pro M2 with 96GB of RAM. Costs without VAT around €4k, but a client paid half of it as a one year retainer for my work, so the device ended up costing me €2k. You would say those specs are over the top, but it's been 2 years and I still have an amazing work machine and there's not enough things I can do to make it feel slow; it pays off, because I don't waste my time waiting for my device, it's the other way around. Would my dad buy such a machine for browsing? Absolutely not! Me as a professional? Makes no sense not to!
There's also the fact that usually, a higher-end machine will have better components that are more comfortable to use. Most brand-new "enterprise" computers we have at work have much worse screens, keyboards and touchpads than my 2013 mbp. I know many people don't seem to care, so that also has to be considered.
Sure, they cost maybe half as much in nominal terms, but seeing how they fall apart even though I take good care of them, I would have needed to replace them so often that I'm not even sure I would have come out ahead. And, at the same time, I would have always had a terrible experience.
Now, I haven't used that Mac in a few years, ever since I stopped going to the office and it stopped being supported. But even over a 7-year period, when I used it daily and carted it around daily, I'm pretty sure it's still an all-around better investment.
