My 2013 MacBook Pro with is processing photos painfully slow and Topaz DeNoise will not launch.

I need to replace this machine. I looked at the new MacBook computers, they are running in the $2500.00 plus tax range, for a computer that has a 14 inch screen and I’m not in love with having to carry a thunderbolt adaptor. The new Macbook weighs 3.5 lbs and because I travel with it, weight is a big consideration.

Can I get suggestions for a laptop to replace this my mac , I have no issue changing over to a Windows OS.

I use Lightroom CC & Topaz DeNoise at this time.

I store my photo’s on an external hardrive and will probably continue to do so. I shoot anywhere from 1000 to 3000 images a year.

Thanks in advance for help with this search.

~Kevin

Or a Windows laptop with a couple of spare batteries. And yes, you can certainly kick up the performance on any mid-level or higher PC - faster clock, faster memory, faster SSDs, more internal m.2 SSDs, current, not last year's GPU, etc etc etc. For $2200, I got a Intel 11th gen i7 with 8 cores, an Nvidia 3000 series graphics with 8 gb vram, 32 gb system ram (user upgradeable to 64 gb just a single screw), and a pair of Gen 4 m.2 SSD drives, 2 TB each, and those are easily upgradeable if needed to a pair of 4 TB. And there is still a 2.5" bay for cheaper SATA drives - (mechanical or SSD). The system has a Control Center that lets me operate quietly (low power), regular, or "high performance" which is actually noticeably faster but much noisier - it runs the fans at full speed. All for $2200. Additional batteries are $100 each, and powers the machine for an extra 3 hours. Apple can't come close. If I were to buy one today, I'd get the Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU with 8 cores, which is even faster, and compares favorably with the M1. Just sayin'

https://www.youtube.com/c/MaxTechOfficial/videos

I no longer care about Apple's hardware not being upgradeable. I bought The M1 MacBook Air with full 16GB unified memory and enough SSD storage (1TB) to be fully functional for what I do. Pricey? A bit. But it's not going to need a clean-out of fans or memory slots, since there are no fans and the memory is soldered.

What I care about is the utility of the ecosystem. It all just works, silently. My iPhone and Mac are connected via the iCloud servers. All my digital life is available on either device. Contacts, calendar, files, notes, reminders, text messages, email, iPhone photos, music, books, and more, all sync. All I did was sign in with my Apple ID and overnight, everything was there, same as it was on my older iMac. I don't play <any> video games, so that's not an issue.

I don't need to carry three batteries, because my M1 MacBook Air battery lasts 17 hours watching movies at a comfortable brightness level. It lasts 8 to 12 hours doing productivity tasks, including audio and video editing, Lightroom, and Photoshop.

With Thunderbolt, I just plug in external devices for expansion. A sub-$100 dock gives me plenty of connectivity options, and if I need more speed or ports, nearly anything will connect via Thunderbolt 3/USB4 at 40Gbps on each of two separate buses. CalDigit and OWC make some killer hubs and docks for one cable connectivity. I'll add external drives as needed for backup and additional storage on the road.

Do I wish I had more ports on the computer? Yes, and I wish the M1 models supported more than one external monitor (the M1 Max supports four, while the M1 Pro supports three). But realistically, one external screen is all I need, and the CharJen Pro Universal Dock 2 is a speedy and reliable solution (Thanks, Matt Granger, for the review).

https://www.youtube.com/c/MaxTechOfficial/videos

I no longer care about Apple's hardware not being upgradeable. I bought The M1 MacBook Air with full 16GB unified memory and enough SSD storage (1TB) to be fully functional for what I do. Pricey? A bit. But it's not going to need a clean-out of fans or memory slots, since there are no fans and the memory is soldered.

What I care about is the utility of the ecosystem. It all just works, silently. My iPhone and Mac are connected via the iCloud servers. All my digital life is available on either device. Contacts, calendar, files, notes, reminders, text messages, email, iPhone photos, music, books, and more, all sync. All I did was sign in with my Apple ID and overnight, everything was there, same as it was on my older iMac. I don't play <any> video games, so that's not an issue.

I don't need to carry three batteries, because my M1 MacBook Air battery lasts 17 hours watching movies at a comfortable brightness level. It lasts 8 to 12 hours doing productivity tasks, including audio and video editing, Lightroom, and Photoshop.

With Thunderbolt, I just plug in external devices for expansion. A sub-$100 dock gives me plenty of connectivity options, and if I need more speed or ports, nearly anything will connect via Thunderbolt 3/USB4 at 40Gbps on each of two separate buses. CalDigit and OWC make some killer hubs and docks for one cable connectivity. I'll add external drives as needed for backup and additional storage on the road.

Do I wish I had more ports on the computer? Yes, and I wish the M1 models supported more than one external monitor (the M1 Max supports four, while the M1 Pro supports three). But realistically, one external screen is all I need, and the CharJen Pro Universal Dock 2 is a speedy and reliable solution (Thanks, Matt Granger, for the review).

Not all applications support the higher pixel count of Retina displays. When you do scaling, just so you can see the tiny text on a 4K or 5K display, away goes the benefit of all of those pixels. I don't know of a single high-end display used for critical color work in a corporate graphics department that is a Retina. Some are using XDR, which are 6K displays, even though they cannot be color profiled by the end user.

BTW, Apple doesn't make displays - iPad screens are made by Samsung, Macbook and iPod Touch are made by LG and JDI (Japan Display Inc.), as well as other mfgrs for their other display products.