Windows 11 System requirements: You should know to install it

If you are planning to install Windows 11 or upgrading Windows 10 to it, then first know the hardware system requirements for your PC or laptop that must be full fill to get Win11.

Well, apart from announcing Windows 11, Microsoft also has revealed the minimum hardware and software configuration required by their new operating system. However, yet while writing this article Microsoft hasn’t released the official ISO file for the Windows 11 preview, of course, the leaked version is out there; nevertheless, the company right now offering people a way to experience Windows 11 by upgrading their existing Windows 10 operating system. And to help with that, MS has also launched a tool called “PC health check“, which reveals with one click whether Windows 11 will run on your current or not.

Although Windows 11 will available as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users, the problem is it might not run on all the computers that already have Win 10, especially the system hardware launched before Windows 10 (i.e. before 2015) and were crafted to run Win 7 and 8 especially.

So, of course, you can download and use the PC health check tool to confirm whether your existing Windows 10 supports the upgrading or installation of Windows 11. Yet, if you have time, let’s talk about the Win 11 system requirements in detail.

Processor

First of all, Unlike Wind 10, Windows 11 is not available for a 32-bit system and only supports 64-bit thus the old notebooks and tablets are out of the question. Of course, 32-bit applications will continue to be executable under 64-bit Windows, and 64-bit drivers should now also be available for most hardware. Next, the CPU must be a dual-core processor with at least 1GHZ frequency. The complete list of Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm CPU have been published by Microsoft to run Windows 11. You can see that using the links. Well, older 64-bit processors would not be an issue, if other system hardware conditions meet.

 

RAM & Storage

Storage and Memory are not an issue. Because most of the modern systems have the required one that is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage to install Windows 11. However, the tablets that are running on eMMC storage of 16GB or 32 GB are out of the picture.

 

Security functions need to install Windows 11

As per the leaked developer Windows 11 ISO preview installation and the listed system hardware requirements by Microsoft, till now it is necessary to have UEFI firmware including Secure Boot and also a Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0). And these are the main roadblock for most of the old systems from installing Windows 11. Because many old PC, Laptop or notebooks running with Windows 10 still don’t fulfill these criteria. However, how strictly Microsoft is going to follow this once the full consumer version is available to download and install by a common user, that yet need to be seen. Because we have installed Windows 11 virtual machine on a host that doesn’t have TPM but still the OS was running absolutely fine.

However, that does not mean the final version will also be the same, so this new TPM jargon for common users will be a new tongue twister.

 

Graphics

DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WDDM 2.x  driver model introduced with Windows 10. Windows 10 itself also runs without problems with older WDDM 1.x drivers. However, because Microsoft made Windows 11 more graphic appealing that require newer drivers and GPUs to unlock the full potential.

 

Internet connection & Microsoft account for Home edition

As per the official website that has listed the system requirements for Windows 11, clearly mentioned that its Home edition will require an Internet connection and a Microsoft account for the initial setup. However, in the leaked version, we still able to set up the Windows 11 Home edition by turning off the internet connection and setting up an offline account. But the account requirement cannot be ignored and might be more strictly enforced in the final version. Nevertheless, it applies to the home version only, thus Windows 11 Pro users are still free to install the OS without this software system requirement.

 

Display

Well, to be able to use Auto-HDR, an HDR-compatible monitor is also required – for Windows 11. Whereas, for regular output any display with 720p resolution or more is sufficient.