What about Clock vs. Cores (we're about to order new laptops as well)?
For Copland's example it would be between:
2.6 GHz 6‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
2.3 GHz 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz
2.4 GHz 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
Would the faster 6-core outperform the slower 8-core?