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I've always maintained separate desktop and laptop. No laptop has ever run as well as a properly built desktop.

The bottom line is physics. Never will hardware crammed into a tiny case, a laptop sized case, perform as well as desktop components in even a slightly larger case. Even less so than components in a real mid tower allowed to be effectively cooled and run wide open. It's just the physics of it.

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The bottom line, in my opinion, is whether you can fit the computing power you need into a certain size and budget. If you only browse reddit, you can. If you want to play new AAA games at 4k@120Hz, probably not.

If it fits, and you can take the typically higher price, then going for the theoretically "more optimal/efficient" would scratch the "optimizer itch", but is arguably of no importance. Just like getting a nice $200 chef knife gets you a nice blade that cuts better and is more maintainable than the one you can get for $5, but if you only cut tofu, all those benefits are pretty abstract.

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