These are the updated hardware requirements for Windows 11
During its grand reveal of Windows 11 earlier today, Microsoft stressed that the new OS will run faster, and upgrades will be smaller and happen in the background.
If you’ve found Windows 10 to be a little sluggish at times, that might sound like great news to you, but Microsoft has updated the base hardware requirements for the new OS, so if your system is getting on a bit it may not be able to run it.
These are the basic requirements for installing Windows 11. If you’re not sure if your system meets those then Microsoft suggests you use the PC Health Check app to assess compatibility.
System requirements
| Processor: | 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC) |
| RAM: | 4 gigabyte (GB) |
| Storage: | 64 GB or larger storage device Note: See below under "More information on storage space to keep Windows 11 up-to-date" for more details. |
| System firmware: | UEFI, Secure Boot capable |
| 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 that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per colour channel |
| Internet connection and Microsoft accounts: | Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use. Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. Learn more about S mode here. For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features. |
There may be additional requirements over time for updates, as well as requirements to turn on specific features within the OS.
Feature-specific requirements for Windows 11
Some features in Windows 11 have increased requirements beyond those listed above in the minimum requirements section. Below are some additional details regarding requirements for key features:
- 5G support requires 5G capable modem.
- Auto HDR requires an HDR monitor.
- Bit Locker to Go requires a USB flash drive (available in Windows Pro and above editions).
- Client Hyper-V requires a processor with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities (available in Windows Pro and above editions).
- Cortana requires a microphone and speaker and is currently available on Windows 11 for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
- DirectStorage requires 1 TB or greater NVMe SSD to store and run games that uses the "Standard NVM Express Controller" driver and a DirectX 12 Ultimate GPU.
- DirectX 12 Ultimate is available with supported games and graphics chips.
- Presence requires sensor that can detect human distance from device or intent to interact with device.
- Intelligent Video Conferencing requires video camera, microphone and speaker (audio output).
- Multiple Voice Assistant (MVA) requires a microphone and speaker.
- Snap three-column layouts require a screen that is 1920 effective pixels or greater in width.
- Mute/Unmute from Taskbar requires video camera, microphone and speaker (audio output). App must be compatible with feature to enable global mute/unmute.
- Spatial Sound requires supporting hardware and software.
- Teams requires video camera, microphone and speaker (audio output).
- Touch requires a screen or monitor that supports multi-touch.
- Two-factor Authentication requires use of PIN, biometric (fingerprint reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
- Voice Typing requires a PC with a microphone.
- Wake on Voice requires Modern Standby power model and microphone.
- Wi-Fi 6E requires new WLAN IHV hardware and driver and a Wi-Fi 6E capable AP/router.
- Windows Hello requires a camera configured for near infrared (IR) imaging or fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a PIN or portable Microsoft compatible security key.
- Windows Projection requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.0 and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
- Xbox (app) requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions. See Xbox Live Countries and Regions for the most up-to-date information on availability. Some features in the Xbox app will require an active Xbox Game Pass subscription. Learn more about the pass.