Microsoft explains why Windows 11 requires a high-spec PC PC

Last week, Microsoft released the latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows 11. Windows 11 brings a few interface changes (new Start Menu, corner windows .) along with a few changes. features like Snap layout, built-in Microsoft Teams, enhanced gaming experience and especially the ability to run Android apps.

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However, to get these features, Windows 11 also requires very demanding hardware. Besides the basic requirements such as dual-core 1Ghz 64-bit chip, 4GB RAM, 64GB hard drive. Windows 11 also requires TPM 2.0 security chip. More specifically, according to Microsoft's official announcement, only 8th generation Intel chips and above, or AMD Ryzen 2000 series or higher, will officially support Windows 11.

This hardware request of Windows 11 immediately received many reactions from users. Because, with Windows 10 being able to run well even on many PC models released more than 10 years ago with "Song Dynasty" chips like Core 2 Duo, Windows 11 requires users to own a PCs produced in the last 2-3 years must be a very confusing thing. 

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Many users receive the message that their PC is not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 when using Microsoft system checker software

Therefore, Microsoft recently had an official explanation for why Windows 11 requires such high hardware requirements. Here's the full post from Microsoft:

Windows 11 is designed to give users a complete experience and unlock the full power of their PC, covering areas such as security, reliability, compatibility, conferencing, multitasking, and so on. entertain, create, build, learn and more.

A minimum hardware requirement allows us to tailor our software and hardware to meet people's expectations and needs, and harness the value and power of your PC to deliver the best experience, at the right time. present and in the future. To do that, we have set the following principles:

Security. Windows 11 elevates security standards by requiring hardware that supports enabling features like Windows Hello, Device Encryption, virtualization-based security (VBS), code integrity assurance ( HVCI) and Secure Boot. The combination of these features reduces malware by up to 60% on the devices tested. Therefore, all Windows 11 supported CPUs must include a TPM chip, secure boot support, and VBS.

Reliability. Devices upgraded to Windows 11 will be in a trusted state. By choosing CPUs based on new driver platforms and supported by hardware partners, the rate of stable operation and no crash is 99.8%.

Compatibility. Windows 11 is designed to be compatible with the applications you use. The basic requirements are CPU with 2 cores and clocked higher than 1GHz, 4GB RAM and 64GB SSD, enough to meet the minimum system requirements with some applications like Office or Microsoft Teams.

With these principles in mind, PCs with Intel 8th Gen CPUs, AMD Zen 2 as well as Qualcomm 7 and 8 Series will meet our security, reliability, and system requirements. minimum system for Windows 11. While Windows 11 is in beta, we'll continue to evaluate whether PCs with Intel 7th Gen CPUs and AMD Zen 1 can meet these guidelines.

Thus, it can be seen that the most important reason that Microsoft removed a series of old chips from the support list is not because of performance, but because of security. With Windows 11, it seems that Microsoft is very focused on stability and security, so the US technology corporation was forced to make a very bold decision that will make a large number of PCs impossible. upgrade to the new operating system. Choosing "quality" instead of "quantity" is clearly a completely opposite direction of Microsoft, when just a few years ago, Microsoft itself used to find ways to "force" users to upgrade to Windows 10.

Jessica Tanner

Update 30 June 2021