American multinational technology company Microsoft has updated its Windows 11 minimum system requirements to include more Intel CPUs.
The company noted in an official blog post that, following Windows Insider testing and discussions with OEMs, the minimum system requirements have been updated to include additional older Intel CPUs that will be compatible with Windows 11, even though the other criteria have not changed.
Microsoft announced Windows 11 in June and is currently testing the latest OS in beta version. It provides the Windows platform a new look as well as several other improvements.
Microsoft listed a few essential minimum requirements for running Windows 11 at the time of its launch. These include a compatible 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, UEFI secure boot, certain graphics requirements, and TPM 2.0.
This caused a stir because CPUs older than late 2017 were not supported, and users would have to upgrade their still-capable CPUs in order to run Windows 11. As per the reports, “Now, though the company is sticking with the aforementioned requirements, it has added a few more Intel CPUs to its compatibility list after testing with Windows Insiders and OEMs.”
The new additions to the compatible CPU list include Intel Core X-series and Xeon W-series. According to the statement, “Intel Core 7820HQ CPUs are also new to the list but only selected devices running this CPU that shipped with modern drivers based on Declarative, Componentized, Hardware Support Apps (DCH) design principles such as the Surface Studio 2 are compatible.”
As for AMD CPUs, there are no new additions. Microsoft says it has carefully analyzed AMD Zen processors in collaboration with AMD.
Furthermore, no information on Windows 11 support for MacBooks via Boot Camp has been released. As per the reports, MacBook users may not be able to install Windows 11 at least officially due to the TPM 2.0 requirement.
