This is not an urgent question. But it is foundational and interesting (at least to me). Is there straight forward way to do some pen and paper calculations and arrive at an estimate for how long a render of a given resolution and sample size will take on a given computer? It would be a great exercise to run through that several times for different computers. In addition, if I am in the market for a new laptop in a few years, it would be nice to have an intuitive sense of how much bang I am getting for my buck. Have not been able to find information on this via Google so far.
Also, if you folks have any links to educational materials on the theory behind different methods of rendering I would be interested in perusing them.