You may not find your processor anymore on Windows 11's supported list of CPUs
Can a PC run Windows 11? One of the metrics that Microsoft uses to determine that is the processors of the system. If it is too old or does not support certain features, it may not support Windows 11 officially or even unofficially.
Up until now, you could head over to the list of supported processors to find out if a specific chip is supported. You simply had to know the processor's name, which you can look up in Settings and some other places, and check if it is listed by Microsoft.
However, this is no longer the case, at least not for PCs with Intel hardware. Microsoft is listing processor series now instead of individual processors. Means, if you want to find out if your Intel Core i5-10400 CPU is supported, you need to know that it is a tenth generation processor.
The links that Microsoft added point to Intel, but there are not particularly helpful, as Intel lists all processors of a series on its website, not only those that are compatible with Windows 11. Take the Intel Celeron Processor 3000 Series as an example. It supports Windows 11 according to Microsoft, but at least some of the processors listed on Intel's website do not support Windows 11 officially due to missing requirements. Actually, only one of the processors listed by Intel on its website is compatible officially.
The main problem is that Microsoft's new list is too broad. Customers who look at it would rightfully assume that their CPU is compatible, if its series is listed on the page. As pointed out before, this is apparently not always the case and could lead to quite a few issues and wasted hours, trying to get Windows 11 to install on an unsupported PC.
Our colleagues over at Neowin point out another example. The only supported Kaby Lake processor is the Intel Core i7-7820HQ, which Microsoft uses in its own Surface Studio 2 device. The problem is, Microsoft does not list the entire processor family on its supported processors website. Is it no longer supported? Turns out, it is supported, but no longer listed.
Microsoft has updated the Intel processor listing only at this point. The AMD and ARM chip listing still display individual processors and not processor families.
Closing Words
The new listing is problematic, as it makes it look as if processors that are not officially supported are supported by Windows 11. Microsoft probably wanted to trim the list to make it easier to digest, but it has achieved the opposite. Here is a suggestion, why not add both information to the page? Display processor series, state that not all processors of a particular series may be supported, and link to your own page below that lists all supported ones.
Now it is your turn. Do you check the official documentation before installing or upgrading operating systems? What do you think of Microsoft's updated Intel processor listing? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
Isn’t it interesting how concepts such as home computing. are introduced, to foster dependency on a new technology, which becomes invaluable to every user. Then at some time in the future, after significant volumes of cash have been extracted from this newly established dependency, the conveniences given by features supplied, are gradually removed, unless the user is prepared to part with even more cash.
How many examples of these types of reprehensible practices can you think of ?
I can think of few, Ms$ is the most immediate that comes to mind, but then there are examples like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and if you think about it for long enough, I dare say you could expand that list considerably.
So .. what is the solution ? as far as the online services, which were once your favourites, are concerned, you have to find work-a rounds, and be prepared to accept the fact that they may not always work. So this becomes a perennial battle. But as far as the OS is concerned why should anyone in possession of their sanity, subject themselves to this sort of abuse ?
The solution is to look for alternatives, which are not irretrievably obsessed with making profit at every opportunity and at every level, including those levels that can only be observed on scales, examined by electron microscopes !
But then it very much depends on the level of the addiction and dependency of the user, and how adaptable, and flexible they can be, does it not ?
Peter Newton [London UK Linux user since 2004]
I remember a time when you did not even need this information. You just assumed your hardware would run Windows. But why would Microsoft only focus on Intel CPU’s and not AMD? I guess though, other than us geeks who is really digging around seeing if their CPU is compatible. I mean Windows 11 will tell you if it’s not. I wonder if eventually some CPUs will eventually fall off the compatible list for Windows 11?
My PC has and i5-8400 and I remember I was able to install Windows 11 traditionally in 2021. I used it for a bit until sometime in 2022 when I went back to Windows 10 so I don’t know if that has changed and the CPU is no longer supported. But since I moved to Linux fully in 2024 I can’t really check anymore.
If they really dropped support for it, maybe it’s possible to install it with something like Rufus or Flyoobe11 when some features are disabled, but from what I know, if you install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC, the update function doesn’t work, I don’t know if you can download and install standalone updates, maybe that also checks the PC and denies installing so you have to sit on one version and when another releases, install that on top.
delete all