System Requirements for Microsoft Windows 11

Although Windows 11 appears to be a cosmetic upgrade over Windows 10, the Windows 11 system requirements indicate that there is more to it under the hood. Windows 11 appears to be limited to recently released PCs and will not work on older computers. We've even published a simple instruction on how to use the PC Health Check app to check if your Windows 10 PC can run Windows 11. However, if you want to understand more about the specific system requirements for Windows 11, check out our breakdown below.

Detailed System Requirements for Windows 11

The minimum system requirements for running Windows 11 on a laptop or desktop computer are listed here. If we look at the requirements closely, it appears that even some newer-built desktops will be unable to run Windows 11, as most motherboards do not include TPM onboard, let alone TPM 2.0. Some motherboards provide fTPM support, which should allow Windows 11 to run smoothly.

Moreover, the 64-bit processor requirement indicates that Microsoft intends to phase out older PCs. Microsoft hasn't specified any exact hardware requirements for Android apps to function on Windows 11. Intel Bridge Technology is has made it possible to support Android app. Will Android apps run on Windows 11 if it is powered by AMD processors? We still don't know.

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Storage: 64 GB or larger storage device
• System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
• TPM: TPM Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
• Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
• Display: High definition (720p) display, greater than 9-inch diagonally and 8 bits per color channel support
• Internet connection and Microsoft accounts: To complete device setup on the first use, Windows 11 Home edition requires internet access and a Microsoft account. Switching out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires access to the internet.

Windows 11 Feature-Specific Requirements

Microsoft gives detailed specs for using some of the Windows 11-specific features in addition to the basic system requirements. You may read them here, but here's a quick summary.

• 5G support, of course, requires a 5G capable modem.
• Auto HDR support requires an HDR monitor.
• Bit-Locker to Go requires a USB flash drive and will be available in Windows 11 Pro and above editions.
• Client Hyper-V requires a processor with second-level address translation (SLAT) capabilities. It will be available in Windows Pro and above editions.
• The use of Cortana requires a microphone and speaker. It is currently available on Windows 11 for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Direct Storage requires 1 TB or greater NVMe SSD to store and run games that use the “Standard NVM Express Controller” driver and a DirectX 12 Ultimate GPU.
• DirectX 12 Ultimate is available with supported games and GPUs.
• Presence requires a sensor that can detect human distance from the device or intent to interact with the device.
• Intelligent Video Conferencing features require a video camera, microphone, and speaker.
• Multiple Voice Assistant (MVA) also requires a microphone and speaker.
• The three-column Snap layout requires a screen that is 1920 effective pixels or is greater in width.
• Mute/ Unmute from Taskbar requires a video camera, microphone, and speaker. The app must also be compatible with features to enable global mute/ unmute.
• Spatial Sound also requires supporting hardware and software.
• The Microsoft Teams integration in the taskbar requires a video camera, microphone, and speaker.
• Touch support requires a screen or monitor that supports multi-touch.
• Two-factor authentication requires the use of a PIN, biometric (fingerprint reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a smartphone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support.
• Voice Typing feature requires a PC with a microphone.
• The handy Wake on Voice feature requires a Modern Standby power model and microphone.
• Wi-Fi 6E requires a new WLAN IHV hardware and driver and a Wi-Fi 6E capable AP/ router, as per the official Windows 11 system requirements list.
• Windows Hello biometric authentication requires a camera configured for near-infrared (IR) imaging or a fingerprint reader. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a PIN or a portable Microsoft security key.
• Windows Projection requires a display adapter that supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.0 and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
• The Xbox app requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions.

Check out the Windows 11 Minimum Hardware Requirements

So there you have it: a comprehensive list of requirements for running Windows 11. According to the specifications, running Windows 11 on older PCs will be difficult. Nonetheless, the developer community will provide guidance on how to operate Windows 11 without TPM or UEFI support. In general, Windows 11 will run on PCs with BIOS firmware, but it will be impossible to run the new OS on a 32-bit processor.

That's all for this post. Stay tuned to CERadar for more such updates!