Windows 11 turned out to be demanding on hardware

Microsoft has clarified the minimum system requirements imposed on computers to install the new operating system. The conditions for the update have become the toughest since the release of Windows 8 in 2012: Windows 11 will officially only support processors no older than 8th Gen Intel Core (and Pentium and Celeron Apollo Lake and newer generation) and AMD Ryzen 2000.

According to the official Microsoft website, the minimum system requirements for Windows 11 are only a 64-bit processor with two or more cores (1 GHz or higher), 4 gigabytes of RAM, a storage capacity of at least 64 GB, a DirectX 12 compatible graphics card, and a screen HD resolution (720p) or higher and a diagonal of at least 9 inches. In comparison, Windows 10 only needed a 32-bit chip and half the memory.

Safety requirements have also become higher. The prerequisite for installing Windows 11 is UEFI with support for Secure Boot (firmware that installs on modern PCs instead of BIOS), as well as Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0. These technologies are used to protect the system from viruses, ransomware, ransomware and other malware.

Microsoft says there is TPM in “almost every processor released in the last 5-7 years.” To check the version of the module, you need to open the “Run” window (called by the Win + R keyboard shortcut) and enter tpm. msc.

You can check how your computer meets the new requirements by using the PC Health Check application from Microsoft website. If at least one of the conditions for the update is not met, the error “Windows 11 cannot be started on this computer” appears.

And although it will be possible to install Windows 11 on older computers (TPM version 1.2 is also suitable), the system will issue a warning about non-compliance, and some functions may be unavailable. In addition, it is not yet clear how long “incompatible” devices will be supported.

Windows 11 Preview Build for Windows Insider Test Program Participants will be released next week. Windows 10 genuine users can get a free update of windows 11.