The minimum requirement for an Intel CPU to officially run Windows 11 is an 8th Generation Intel Core processor or newer.
Microsoft's official list of supported Intel processors generally includes:
- Intel Core i3, i5, i7, i9 processors from the 8th Generation (e.g., Coffee Lake, Whiskey Lake) and newer.
- Intel Xeon W-series and scalable processors starting with the E-2100 series and 2nd Generation scalable processors.
- Intel Pentium Gold and Silver processors from specific modern series (e.g., Pentium Gold 4000 series and newer).
- Intel Celeron processors from specific modern series (e.g., Celeron 4000 series and newer).
- A few specific 7th Generation Intel Core X-series and W-series processors (like the Core i7-7820HQ in certain systems) are also supported, but these are exceptions.
🛠️ Key Technical Requirements
The cutoff at the 8th generation is largely due to specific security features, such as hardware-based security protocols and mandatory support for Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0, which are more consistently available and robust on these newer architectures.
In addition to having a compatible CPU model, the system must meet other hardware requirements:
- Processor: 1 GHz or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit chip.
- RAM: 4 GB or more.
- Storage: 64 GB or larger storage device.
- System Firmware: UEFI with Secure Boot capable.
- TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.
- Graphics Card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver.
For a complete and specific list of all supported Intel processors, refer to the official Microsoft documentation.
