Microsoft may adjust Windows 11 minimum system requirements
Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system may support more processors than initially announcement by Microsoft through the system requirements. Microsoft released the first Windows 11 Insider build on June 28, 2021 for testing. Like Windows 10 Insider builds, the primary purpose of builds for Windows 11 is to gather Telemetry and to a lesser degree feedback.
Insider build PCs provide Microsoft with lots of data on the build and operating system; they are run using numerous hardware and software combinations, and Microsoft uses the data to detect issues and bugs. The approach is far from perfect, as most updates do introduce bugs and issues, but it is essential for Microsoft.
One of the main points of criticism in regard to Windows 11 was the minimum system requirements that Microsoft set for the operating system. The processor requirement, 8th generation or higher, and the TPM 2.0 requirement, prevent many devices, including several of Microsoft's Surface line of devices, from being fully compatible with Windows 11.
Microsoft's explained that the stricter system requirements would improve security, reliability and compatibility with Windows 11. Practically, there is no good reason to limit Windows 11 to the listed processor generations, as the operating system would certainly run as well on a 7th generation and maybe even a 6th generation CPU.
Why then did Microsoft decide on these strict system requirements? Is it because it wants hardware to be pushed (and thus also OEM copies of Windows 11), or because it wants users to experience a fast responsive system, something that can best be achieved with the latest processors?
In the announcement, Microsoft confirms that the information in regards to system compatibility have caused confusion, and that its PC Health Tool, the program to check whether a system is compatible with Windows 11, was part of the problem. Third-party Windows 11 compatibility tools were created that offered better explanations.
Microsoft announced that it will temporarily remove the application and release an updated version in the Fall 2021.
7th generation CPUs
Windows 11 Insider Builds will install on 7th generation CPUs according to Microsoft's announcement,
Below you will find changes we are making based on that feedback, including ensuring we have the ability for Windows Insiders to install Windows 11 on 7th generation processors to give us more data about performance and security, updating our PC Health check app to provide more clarity, and committing to more technical detail on the principles behind our decisions.
Data will be gathered and it may result in a lowering of the system requirements for the final version of Windows 11.
Closing Words
The system requirements of Windows 11 are not set in stone yet. The testing of 7th generation processors is a strong indicator, the removal of the PC Health Tool another. Microsoft will adjust the system requirements to get more users on Windows 11 using Windows Update.
Now You: what is your take on this development?
windows 11 is a big fat lie and a mess don’t upgrade to it at all it does not run good on new pc’s
1 black screen of death
2 bad motherboard
3. bad hard drive
4. bad memory
5. bad cpu
all new mad in 2023 but windows 11 says they are bad but i go in to the bios and run the test and all are good not bad and the pc shop tecs all so say it is windows 11 doing this mess not the hardware IT IS WINDOWS 11
Why dont microsoft just keep current version for corporations and businesses!!,and bring out the same version with the TPM 2.0 disabled for us ordinary folk that dont need fort know security????.Makes so much more sense to me.i tried win 11 on a very low tech 12 year old laptop,with the tpm disabled,and guess what it ran just fine!!!!!.So please microsoft stop trying to shaft everyone!! into buying new machines that are not required thank you…….
hi Martin:
MS just recently did adjust the Win11 minimum requirements BUT only allowing a FEW handful of 7th gen Intel CPUs for the Win11 upgrade:
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/27/update-on-windows-11-minimum-system-requirements-and-the-pc-health-check-app/
but also NOT adding AMD Zen 1 (1st gen Ryzen) CPU support to the updated Win11 requirements
I have a Dell Inspiron 7559 with the specs below. Last night, I downloaded and installed the Windows 11 Beta version without a problem. Not a single issue. It was a great surprise given that all my early web searches suggested that my processor was or would be excluded despite checking off all other compatibility items for Win 11. I really did not want to consider the possibility of having to buy a new PC just to get Win 11 given that this PC is perfectly fine and runs exceptionally well.
I agree with the general sentiments among many here about the perceived arbitrariness of Microsoft’s compatibility exclusions. Microsoft should be ashamed at how poorly they have handled the rollout of Windows 11 so much so that they even slap down many of their own Surface PCs that are super expensive and on sale right now.
Hoping this post helps others who might be running the same or similar processor(s) and encourage you to try to download Win 11 Beta with success too, hopefully.
Specs:
Device name DELL Inspiron 7559
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
what is your take on this development?
This is not a “development”, it’s speculation.
Microsoft MAY adjust Windows 11 minimum system requirements, or Microsoft MAY NOT adjust Windows 11 minimum system requirements.
Give us some solid we don’t know about.
I am currently Running a Dell Precision t5500. The computer has 48 Gigs of ram, dual Xeons x5690’s, and a 4 gigabyte graphics card, and as of right now is not compatible with windows 11! Anyone could use my computer, and see just how asinine it would be to upgrade my computer, just for windows 11. My computer runs a 512 gig SSD, and is blazingly fast! Why go out, and even buy a new PC with windows 10, when my computer runs like a brand new 2021 machine. That is microsoft’s screw up, not supporting a computer, that is still technologically able, and can run various programs, such as Photoshop, and Cad with ease! Also coming from an older machine, why would I upgrade, when Windows 10, has been rock stable, not a crash at all, and all drivers/ updates working flawlessly. I sure do not need a new PC, to get a better windows 10 experience, so why would I with 11!
Marketing!?
Something I found today regarding Win 11’s selective compatibility. Not the CPU capability, not TPM, some ancient and puny (Atom) CPU’s are OK, it’s whether HVCI/VBS slows performance.
All about security, although the Security Experience Man quoted here says you can turn off those two sets of caps, OK, MS. Too much Experience Juice for him!
https://www.goodgearguide.com.au//article/689514/why-windows-11-leaving-many-pcs-behind-it-just-tpm/
And Marketing will be sure that happens leaving high security most users can’t utilize. But who cares, you already have layer after layer of security stuff anyway.
Move along, nothing to see here…
:)
I have two systems that pass the test and two that do not.
One of the one’s that didn’t pass also did not pass the test to install Windows 10, which has been on it since the beginning of Windows 10 and works fine.
If I can’t install it on the two systems I will keep 10 on them until 2025.
Then I will install Ubuntu on each of them.
Ubuntu is fast as hell and couldn’t care less about the hardware.
Microsoft will lock down Windows until it’s an iOS clone, with less privacy.
The whole TPM requirement is just Microsoft pushing the DRM agenda for their games and for Hollywood, doesn’t take a genius to know that you don’t need it to run the OS and it’s just an artificial requirement.
Welp I guess the time has come to completely switch to Linux, it was a long time coming anyways.
What are the odds that MS has deals with hardware makers to boost sales of new their hardware?
I gladly jumped on board for Windows 10 Pro on all 3 PCs. None are compatible with Windows 11.
If this is the way it is to be, I refuse to by a new PC to use their new OS. I’ll go to Linux instead.
This foolishness could be the final nail in MS’s coffin.
I wouldn’t wanna be a computerseller right now. There are what, 900 trillion gazillion brazillion Windows 10 computers sitting on the store shelves that will not be able to run Windows 11. Try to sell those now, with the sales pitch: Buy this and then in 4 short years you’re gonna have to buy another one if you want to run a safe and updated windows OS! Special price, JUST FOR YOU, ONLY TODAY! Redmond really suckerpunched the planet again..
What I find interesting is the fact that telemetry doesn’t always report the true status of older machines.
I currently run Windows 10 Pro in a VM and over the years from 1607 to 20H2. For that last year or so it’s been dogged slow to do anything in it. However I know this not to be true.
So two days ago I downloaded the 20H2 ISO from Microsoft and blew away the VM and restarted from scratch. The difference is like an eclipse. It’s immediate, fast, as it was when I installed/restored 1607 before that.
This isn’t my first rodeo with this type of event either. I’ve built thousands of unique machine through my journey in this life and hopefully I’ll do more. The more Microsoft pours on updates the slower a base install gets. So occasionally a refresh has to occur from scratch. This isn’t my fault but the OS itself.
Now I’m not saying that the machine that is running is the pride of the pack but it does happen to be decked out to the maximum minus the TPM chip which is on its way (albeit 1.2 I believe and no the BIOS doesn’t have Intels PTT). 64GiB memory (which wasn’t cheap and still isn’t), decent graphics card for multiple monitors and several concurrent VMs not just Win10.
The very few games that I run I almost always get around 60 fps for CPU and GPU based games (partially limited by my 60 Hz refresh rate too). I rarely play games… however development is a top priority.
Sure it’s not a Ryzen processor or even one of the newer Intel chips… but it’s still 12 threads and works just as fast as my friends 9th gen Intel with one exception on compiling when I run native Win10 (btw his TPM chip is sold out and I have to see if PTT is even present on that machine which is a few years old… not every machine gives it or has it enabled). I can usually beat his rig any day otherwise just with the master power tweaks and some ancillary hardware improvements. I’ve been building and tweaking machines almost as long as Microsoft has been around. I’ve even tweaked Microsofts OSand they adopted several things throughout the years.
If Microsoft wants to kill development of their platform that is all on them.
Developers, especially FOSS, don’t have thousands of dollars to throw around to match specs and upgrade constantly (yes I watch all the Gamers builds too so I know it might be around a thousand but add maximum memory and match the capabilities I currently have then that exceeds it by several thousand). We tweak, we conserve instead of contributing to eWaste when we can.
Just a FYI it’s a i7-4790K and was just recently upgraded to that. Previously it was a i7-4930K. Most of the newer chips and DRAM are a nice to have but definitely not necessary especially since I’m running Win10 in a VM and I get great results. I also have a NVMe boot drive series. If I was gaming, sure… give me a grant with no strings attached and I’ll upgrade but otherwise there are places for those trying to push unnecessary hardware upgrades.
/rant
Here’s a random “food for thought”…
With all of the machines that have TPM disabled by default (either PTT/fTPM or a real chip) how can anyone in their right mind make an informed decision on what is considered a “good experience” with older/current hardware? Telemetry sure wouldn’t show more favorable results due to this. There must be an ulterior motive.
Also with all the hype over the last few years where Microsoft is using mostly VMs for testing Windows 10 instead of real hardware not all have TPM capability and if they do it is software based so obviously their test results are going to be seriously flawed.
Another brief followup:
The 9th gen ASUS system (~2.5 years old from purchase and a bit older since I advised that buyer to go back a little bit for stability) that I looked at had this to say on the screen when I finally found PTT and enabled it:
> “Notice
>
> Intel® PTT is a hardware TPM 2.0 implementation integrated in Intel® ME/CSME/TXE for credential storage and key management. The firmware TPM key will be stored in Intel® ME data region once you enable Intel® PTT and Windows® BitLocker for drive encryption. Please note that when the recovery key is lost or when the BIOS ROM chip is replaced, the system will not boot into the operating system and the data will stay encrypted and cannot be restored.
NICE! (not and is sarcasm)
I was just thinking that if any part of a warrantied system fails or is replaced then you may lose your system. Not a very wise move to use PTT imho. This seems to be a clear attempt to attack Right to Repair not to mention I’m sure someone knows how to wipe the ME data region… and what if it is not updated. Most repair sources, authorized or not, never update that firmware and occasionally that software may blank your ME data region.
PTT seems to already have a bunch of critical issues (corresponding AMD fTPM as well).
Linux also has LUKS which you may save any number of copies of backedup keys to USB flash sticks, if you so choose. My test encryptions/decryptions of huge files were just as speedy as smaller ones. i.e. software based.
Most of Microsofts key points for TPM are now moot imho.
Some followup here:
First … One system I installed a 20pin TPM 1.2 chip recently (before the prices skyrocketed and out of stock) recognizes it quite well and it wasn’t meant for that particular ASUS board (although was ASUS).
Secondly I also found out my board (and a bunch of others) had, at one time, a TPM 2.0 chip available at Amazon France with id of B01HMZLBK8 (Specifically Asus part number 90MC0410-M0XBN0 which is the L version for 20 pin). The problem is that it’s not available anywhere found. I would think that they could easily remake these for all systems.
Thirdly VMs “might”, and I emphasize this, have a software emulation of TPM 2.0. This still doesn’t address when running natively outside of a VM HyperVisor.
I’m extremely disappointed at this attempt at planned obsolescence of existing hardware that isn’t that old and also everything back to gen 4. Several articles I have read claim TPM started in 2013 yet my board has the capability of one and it’s 2011. So this has been planned for quite some time and this non-sense requirement is the obsolescence… put the two together and what does one get?!
Further gHacks reading I missed too is at https://www.ghacks.net/2016/05/16/find-out-if-your-computer-supports-tpm/ and interesting source scattered about GitHub regarding the specifications.
Another back burner concern set with, at the very least, is any of the root keys identifying each person and what they do and publish. This is dangerous and could be a National Security issue for any Government. Also who says that someones encrypted key used by Microsoft can’t be shared with their third party vendors… doesn’t even have to be Microsoft too.
I have an old computer with a 4th gen processor, with 16gb memory and a SSD. I’m perfectly satisfied with the performance.
What I’m not happy about is Windows. The quality stinks, and we live in fear with every update. I run the oldest supported version of Windows 10.
I’ve finally migrated to applications that can run on Linux, i.e., I switched from Outlook to Thunderbird, and from Office to LibreOffice.
My only problem now is I have to pick a distro. The great thing is you are not locked in to any one distro.
I’ve tried several distros, and they all work fine. The one feature I like in Windows is jump lists. I’ve only found jump lists in Mint Cinnamon and KDE Plasma. Otherwise, no particular distro I tried stands out.
Does anyone know of other distros with jump lists?
Or distros that stand out from the rest.
Try Zorin OS.
Also, you don’t need KDE Plasma to use most everything KDE on other distros.
KDE is overall good, but I don’t like KDE Plasma much.
Here’s the bare minimum of what is required for me to use and recommend Windows 11:
1. Run on any hardware that can run Windows 7.
2. No account required.
3. Ability to completely disable all telemetry.
If MS cannot meet those 3 simple requirements, there is 0% chance I’ll be using Windows 11, recommending it to anyone, or developing software for it.
As if you have a choice, which you don’t, not with those requirements, ha.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes
(Typo): *provides security updates
Without meaning to, these news articles about Windows 11 have shown just how brazen Microsoft is planning to be about gaslighting the consumer (please look up the term if you don’t know it)
90% of computer users just need an operating system to run an Office suite (word processing, spreadsheet, etc), browse the internet, and stream music/movies. Video games or video editing is also popular
The tragedy is that Windows 7 can perform these functions
All users need is a modern system which purely provides update, does not include telemetry, is compatible with current peripherals, and can be used on computers purchased in the last 7 years. Not much to ask
So you know the intent behind these news articles, and got more meaning from them, and thus from that you claim Microsoft is planning to gaslight their customers.
Hmm..
You appear to be psychotic.
Hmm..
Or perhaps Microsoft has put a hidden chip in your head?
Hmm..
Or perhaps you’re a false prophet?
Hmm..
Microsoft is a criminal monopoly. It conspires with Intel and OEMs to manipulate the market, to force people to unnecessarily buy new hardware.
You can run Windows 10 on Win 7 hardware with a BIOS hack, and Windows 11 on Windows 7 and 10 hardware with a few file swaps. There is nothing that requires the use of TPM, other than MS now trying to make users dependent on it and Microsoft accounts. This proves there is no technical reason why Windows can’t be installed on older systems and without using TPM.
So what you’re saying is, buy Microsoft and Intel stock.
Thanks for that insider tip!
None of this matters until 2025 or perhaps ever later.
Just keep using 10 and ignore all this nonsense about 11.
But if you want to follow everything that MS says about 11, with all the speculative news around that, then expect to be lied to.
I tried insider build out. If you want ton of functionality missing and your workflow ruined get 11. Its total crap so far.
@Anonymous
As if your anecdotal experience with a beta version of 11 means much, which is doesn’t, except to Microsoft who got you to work for them for free.
the next (longterm) system anyone should think about buying (unless they need one right now) would be the ddr5, alderlake (intel) / later or amd zen4/whatever. no point buying tpm chips or new hardware just to get win11. even more nuts is to scalp it… or buy it from scalpers.
My PC has an 8 core Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB ram, the right motherboard, an SSD drive and decent video. But my system fails because of the processor. Seriously ? Microsoft can stick their new Windows 11.
Microsoft can put the new Windows 11 in the ass! We better switch to Linux. Anyway, my next laptop will be a Mac.
Same here, 8 core Ryzen 7 1700X running at 3.4GHz and is under 4 years old. Handles everything – including modern games like Cyberpunk 2077 with ease, yet apparently is too slow for Windows 11. Something is definitely rotten regarding MS’s supported CPUs list.
== Microsoft signed a malicious Netfilter rootkit 06/25/2021 ==
https://www.gdatasoftware.com/blog/microsoft-signed-a-malicious-netfilter-rootkit
What started as a false positive alert for a Microsoft signed file turns out to be a WFP application layer enforcement callout driver that redirects traffic to a Chinese IP. How did this happen?
Last week our alert system notified us of a possible false positive because we detected a driver[1] named “Netfilter” that was signed by Microsoft. Since Windows Vista, any code that runs in kernel mode is required to be tested and signed before public release to ensure stability for the operating system. Drivers without a Microsoft certificate cannot be installed by default.
In this case the detection was a true positive, so we forwarded our findings to Microsoft who promptly added malware signatures to Windows Defender and are now conducting an internal investigation. At the time of writing it is still unknown how the driver could pass the signing process.
The first thing I noted after opening the strings view are some strings that looked encoded or encrypted. While this is not necessarily a sign of a malicious file, it is odd that a driver obfuscates a part of their strings.
I decoded the strings using the following Python snippet.
def decryptNetfilterStr(encodedString):
key = [9,0,7,6,8,3,1]
i = 0
decodedString = “”
for ch in encodedString:
decodedString = decodedString + chr(ord(ch) ^ key[i%7])
i += 1
return decodedString
Similar samples
Searching for this URL as well as the PDB path and the similar samples feature on Virustotal we found older samples as well as the dropper[2] of the netfilter driver. The oldest sample[3] signatures date back to March 2021. Virustotal queries to find similar samples via URL and PDB path are listed below.
content:{5c68656c6c6f5c52656c656173655c6e657466696c7465726472762e706462}
content:{687474703a2f2f3131302e34322e342e3138303a323038302f75}
Additionally the following Yara rule will find samples via retrohunting.
rule NetfilterRootkit : Rootkit x64
{
meta:
author = “Karsten Hahn @ GDATA CyberDefense”
description = “Netfilter kernel-mode rootkit”
sha256 = “115034373fc0ec8f75fb075b7a7011b603259ecc0aca271445e559b5404a1406”
sha256 = “63D61549030FCF46FF1DC138122580B4364F0FE99E6B068BC6A3D6903656AFF0”
strings:
$s_1 = “\\??\\netfilter\x00” wide
$s_2 = “IPv4 filter for redirect\x00” wide
$s_3 = “\\Registry\\Machine\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\SystemCertificates\\ROOT\\Certificates\\\x00”
$s_4 = “Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,image/apng,*/*;q=0.8,application/signed-exchange;v=b3;q=0.9\x0D”
$url = “http://110.42.4.180:2080/u\x00”
$pdb_1 = “C:\\Users\\omen\\source\\repos\\netfilterdrv\\x64\\Release\\netfilterdrv.pdb\x00”
//RSDS [20] G:\\hello\x64\Release\netfilterdrv.pdb
$pdb_2 = {52 53 44 53 [20] 47 3A 5C E6 BA 90 E7 A0 81 5C 68 65 6C 6C 6F 5C 78 36 34 5C 52 65 6C 65 61 73 65 5C 6E 65 74 66 69 6C 74 65 72 64 72 76 2E 70 64 62}
condition:
any of ($pdb_*, $url) or
all of ($s_*)
}
Dropper and installation
The dropper places the driver into %APPDATA%\netfilter.sys. Then it creates the file %TEMP%\c.xalm with the following contents and issues the command regini.exe x.calm to register the driver.
Command and control server
The URL hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/u in the decoded string listing is the server of the rootkit. The Netfilter driver[1] connects to it for fetching configuration information.
Each URL has a specific purpose.
URL Purpose
hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/p Proxy settings
hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/s Redirection IPs
hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/h? Ping with CPU-ID
hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/c Root certificate
hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/v? Self update
IP redirection
The core functionality of the malware is its IP redirection. A list of targeted IP addresses are redirected to 45(.)248.10.244:3000. These IP addresses as well as the redirection target are fetched from hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/s.
Researcher @jaydinbas reversed the redirection configuration in this tweet and provided the latest decoded configuration in a pastebin. The general format as observed by @cci_forensics and @jaydinbas is [-]{||…}
Update mechanism
The sample has a self-update routine that sends its own MD5 hash to the server via hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/v?v=6&m=. A request might look like this: hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/v?v=6&m=921fa8a5442e9bf3fe727e770cded4ab. The server then responds with the URL for the latest sample, e.g., hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/d6 or with OK if the sample is up-to-date. The malware replaces its own file accordingly.
Root certificate
The rootkit receives a root certificate via hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/c and writes it to \Registry\Machine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\ROOT\Certificates\. The data that is returned from the server has the format []:{}
Proxy
At hxxp://110.42.4.180:2081/p the malware requests the proxy which it sets as AutoConfigURL in the registry key \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\?Internet Settings. The returned value at the time of writing is hxxp://ptaohuawu.bagua.com.hgdjkgh.com:2508/baidu.txt
Sample hashes
Description SHA256
[1] Netfilter driver 63d61549030fcf46ff1dc138122580b4364f0fe99e6b068bc6a3d6903656aff0
[2] Netfilter dropper d64f906376f21677d0585e93dae8b36248f94be7091b01fd1d4381916a326afe
[3] Netfilter driver, older version signed in March 115034373fc0ec8f75fb075b7a7011b603259ecc0aca271445e559b5404a1406
More hashes related to the Netfilter rootkit are in this spreadsheet created by Florian Roth.
Imagine a 7920X 12core .24 threads @ 4.7 Ghz, 1080Ti and 32 GB of RAM beeing unable to run Windows 11.
Havent they heard the story of the one eye patch sailor?
And Marketing steps in…
They knew what they were doing. They did that back in the DOS and Windows 3.1 era. They are just testing the waters to see until where they can push that bullshit. Windows 11 is just windows 10 with a new shell. There is absolutely no reason not to support older hardware running legacy boot.
“Microsoft’s explained that the stricter system requirements would improve security, reliability and compatibility with Windows 11.”
I call complete stinky B.S. on Microsoft’s part.
I think it’s obvious they have another agenda, and this statement by MS is just nonsense they are making up as a cover story that few people are stupid enough to believe.
There is no valid reason that even a first generation i3 processor cannot run a modern operating system. After all, such a processor has no problem at all running Linux with very productive performance.
Except 11 is not a “modern operating system”…. it’s the future!
All the backdoors they have developed are for those specific processors only. You know, for “security”..
Yeah… right!
You’ll need the extra power for all the bloatware and spyware.
A blessing in disguise! My still snappy i7-6700HQ daily driver Precision laptop won’t qualify for Win 11 so I won’t have to worry about screwing it up with yet another Windows upgrade that offers no benefit and only frustration.
It runs Win 10, but after using that for a while I reloaded Win 7 because that OS just works so much better and I don’t have to wake up to any surprises when I power it back on each day like I often experience with my other Win 10 computers.
That product development department at Microsoft must be one amazing place to work. I can’t imagine any other place on earth so completely detached from reality. I bet the water even flows uphill in that office.
So what is faster – the “unsupported” 4790K and 5775C or a low-end 8th gen? The answer should be obvious…
Google Android updates says Hi!
This shit happened in Android world where some OEMs would stop updates for 8xx Snapdragon processors after 2 years and yet would happily provide OS upgrade for newly launched 6xx processors although 8 series was still lightning years ahead of 6 series even after 2 years.
I don’t like Apple but that company knows what its doing in terms of software updates.
If you want to support Intel 7th generation processors why not support 6th generation too? They should be almost the same with a slight clock bump.
I’m fairly confident that I wouldn’t even notice much difference running Windows 11 on 2nd gen vs 8th gen or higher.
Skylake (6th gen) was the beginning of the current architectural shift from Intel and everything since then has been very minor and incremental. It would’ve made more sense if Microsoft had set Skylake as the cutoff point for Intel processors, though it still would’ve been a bad move since so many older CPUs are still perfectly functional and even competitive performance-wise with the latest generation.
I’m currently using a 2012 laptop with a Core i7 3840QM, Quadro K2000M GPU, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. It doesn’t matter that it’s almost a decade old it still smokes most of the thin-and-light notebooks available today. Plus it’s easy to repair and never thermal throttles.
The thought of replacing this reliable workhorse just to run Windows 11 is nothing short of ludicrous. I’d have to be insane to do that. I can still see myself using this machine in 2030, it’s like the Toyota Camry of notebooks.
I call your Toyota Camry and raise with my Datsun 100A: Fujitsu Siemens S7210. This prehistoric BEAST came with Vista and runs 10 without breaking a sweat. I also have a couple of newish midrange laptops, on patch tuesdays I usually have all of them on a table and update them simultaneously. S7210 is always ready to go while the others still wonder about how to start, I have to restrain S7210 and wait for the others to catch up so we can all update together like a big happy dysfunctional windows 10 family. Before the others have downloaded the updates S7210 is already done and needs a restart, same thing every time. Like a hyperactive sheepdog that just ran out of sheep. I don’t know what they put in this thing back in 2007 but I love it and I’m keeping it FOREVER. Not because of sentimental retro reasons or to amuse friends and family with my weird old tech-hoarding quirks, nopety nope, this bad boy/girl/trans device stays because it’s a damn good computer. Ugly, check, bulky, check, crap screen, check, dead battery, check, loud fan, check, manly, check. Of course it ticks none of the requirementboxes that windows 11 has, but just you wait.. I know my Datsun, it’s gonna work just fine with 11 too. Because I said so.
My Wife gave me a new desktop computer around four years ago for Christmas…seems like yesterday. It has a 3.5 GHZ 8 core processor, 16 GB of system memory, USB 3.0, a dedicated graphics card with 4 GB of memory, a huge case with a see thru side, three case fans and plenty of room/slots for expansion, a 600 Watt power supply, a one TB hard drive, and Windows 10 operating system. My high speed internet downloads at 470 Mbps and uploads at 24 Mbps. It does everything I want it to do, including playing video games without a blip. All of my drivers, the BIOS and operating system are up to date. Nothing bogs my computer down. But according to Microsoft, my computer isn’t compatible with Windows 11 because of my processor and TPM (whatever that is). One of the selling points of Windows 10, at least to me, is that I’d never have to purchase another operating system (very cool). Now they tell me I will have to buy a whole new computer instead(not cool). What will this do to current computer sales? How many people will get shafted? There is a fine line between clever and demonic.
The odd thing here is that being a windows insider, I just received the build and it’s running fine sans TPM. I am not even sure if my Ryzen processor is qualified. The warning I received is that when the 11 becomes official, I will have to reinstall 10. Makes no sense whatsoever.
Just activate TMP in Bios. :]
My computer is a dell that is 5 years old. It says it does not support it. I will keep 10..
You allowed Microsoft to brainwash you into thinking this was to be better than what they actually said.
Shame on you!