I tend to think a bit differently , buy a computer with the fastest working speed and ram that you can afford. If you start using a lot of software, it becomes very helpful as things will get slower and slower and things can come to a halt.
If your just doing basic stuff than perhaps that isn't as important. I would think i5 processor and 8GB RAW , hard drive space can vary. For instance I don't keep any photos on my internal hard drive so I don't need huge storage (even tho my most recent computer has 2T). It came that way, or I won't have spent the money there, more RAM can make a big difference.
I don't mean to sound like a computer wiz, as I'm not; however, over the years and with experience I have learned some basic facts that work for me. I am sure some serious computer folks will chime in with more specifics.