Windows 11 Compatibility: Check if Your PC Meets the Requirements

With a fully virtual keynote, Microsoft presented to the world what will be its next operating system, Windows 11. The leak from last week gave us a fairly solid idea about its development and content, but we needed the official word from Redmond to confirm some data and deny others. At the top of the list are its hardware requirements. If you want to know if your PC is compatible with Windows 11 we recommend you follow this text closely, because there are several points that demand your attention…

Is Your PC Compatible with Windows 11? — Is your PC compatible with Windows 11?

Windows 11: Straight to the Technical

Microsoft's keynote had some strange passages, especially when Panos Panay, CFO and mastermind behind Windows and Surface, appeared on screen. Panay indicated that the new look of Windows 11 recognizes the responsibility of practice and function, but at the same time it had to feel "personal and emotional".

That set off alarms on our side: If someone appeals to emotion in a keynote, it's likely that their salad doesn't have enough dressing. Therefore, our decision is to step on the accelerator and go straight to the technical aspect of the operating system, starting with a question: Is your PC compatible with Windows 11?

Hardware Requirements for Windows 11

Processor or SoC with two or more cores at 1 GHz or faster, and 64-bit support
4 gigabytes of RAM
64 gigabytes or larger storage (variable configuration)
UEFI firmware with Secure Boot support
TPM (Trusted Platform Module) version 2.0 or higher
Graphics compatible with DirectX 12 or later, and WDDM 2.0 drivers
720p display of 9 inches diagonal or larger, 8 bits per color channel
Connectivity and Microsoft account required on Windows 11 Home for the initial setup

The first two points confirm something that had been in the air for a while: Windows 11 will not have 32-bit editions. In general terms, this won't be a problematic change, because all those old computers without the "64-bit flag" already run Windows or Linux editions more appropriate for their specifications.

Storage has always been a delicate topic, but Microsoft did exactly what was expected: raise the requirement. One of Redmond's promises is that hotfixes for Windows 11 will be up to 40 percent smaller (compared to Windows 10) and will install in the background... however, all that needs space, as do OEM recovery images.

Undoubtedly, the two elements in Windows 11 requirements that most concern users are UEFI firmware and TPM 2.0. The mention of Secure Boot does not suggest mandatory status for now, but everything seems to indicate that systems with UEFI and CSM enabled (Compatibility Support Module, also called "BIOS mode") will not be able to receive Windows 11. What about TPM 2.0? Many modern computers already have it, although it usually comes disabled by default in the BIOS. In more extreme cases, some motherboards include a connector for external TPM modules, which average $25.

The graphics aspect raises no suspicion, but Windows 11 Home editions will require the use of a Microsoft account "to complete the setup on first use", another step in the direction of the concept "Windows as a service".

How to Check if Your PC is Compatible with Windows 11

Microsoft shared two resources. The first is the software called "PC Health Check", which you can download by clicking this link. Its interface has a new section called "Introducing Windows 11", and clicking Check Now will confirm whether your computer is in a position to receive Windows 11 or not.

Unfortunately, the program does not provide technical details about the missing or incompatible elements in its check; however, we can extract some data. For example, my main computer meets all requirements, but has CSM enabled. If the program detects CSM or does not register a TPM module, it will likely throw an error message.

The second resource is a list of "Processors supported by Windows 11", divided into Intel and AMD. After studying both lists, I think Microsoft talks about "validated processors" rather than "supported". Why? Because some absences are too significant. On the Intel side, I doubt that a processor like the Core i7-7700K would have compatibility issues with the operating system. And on the AMD list, all first-generation Ryzen processors are missing, which debuted in March 2017. It would be a gross mistake by Microsoft to abandon relatively recent hardware.