There are 2 big leaps in laptop speed (SSD adoption and ARM CPU)as well as incremental battery improvements and then the ARM lower power/cycle = where we are no

There are 2 big leaps in laptop speed (SSD adoption and ARM CPU)as well as incremental battery improvements and then the ARM lower power/cycle = where we are now. For most tasks the time used is minimal compared to human reaction time. Only with computationally intense tasks, video edit, matrixes etc will humans see the difference in minutes/hours where task time can be charted. I find adding an SSD to an older thinkpad makes it good enough for Word etc. I tolerate the shorter battery life, and mitigate this with new third party battery packs with good reputations at a good price. Very low cost ali-express packs are avoided due to fire risk. So that 5 year old will serve quite well for you.