If you were buying a new laptop and had to choose between more RAM or a more advanced CPU, which would you choose?

i5 isn't more advanced than i7 it just performs better in simultaneous tasks. Arguably in many/most cases an i5 is better because counterintuitively it performs better on a single task, consumes/heats a bit less, etc.

That said RAM is (usually) upgradable and the CPU not, so the focus should be on the latter still

In this particular case, more RAM. The i5 and i7 have the same # of processors (4) and more RAM allows your critical applications to run without to having to swap out to disk (or less swapping to disk). You notice that mostly in word processing, spreadsheets and photo/video manipulation.

In most applications the 16gb will be better. A high powered cpu is a waste in most cases, except some niche uses. But even in those cases, pairing an i7 with only 8gb of ram will not yield good results in terms of performance for a resource hungry application.

Don't buy a new one! Buy a used one from Hunter's repairman! You could make a lot of money!

. I have a 16 GB of Ram with Ryzan 5 CPU and Gaming Graphic GPU. Just close to a Thousand bucks and works like a Champ. Even though I'm not a Gamer as I use to be

Depends what I was using it for.

16 GIG RAM with i5 processor

BUT a series 6

Skylake microarchitecture (6th generation) or higher