Regarding your last paragraph, I generally agree, but there is at least one exception: If you need lots of RAM and nothing else, then many consumer laptops won't do the job.
Oh yea, that is so true. I wish I could get a cheapo processor with like 32GB or 64GB of RAM. The only choices you have are to get a cheap laptop with a minuscule amount of RAM and the exact amount of processing and hard drive space you need, or to buy some $4000 beast with the amount of RAM you need, but too much of everything else.