Wizard PC Services  Kidderminster

Microsoft introduced the final public release of Windows 11 to the world on October 5th 2021 and as you might expect are hailing it as the most advanced and secure Windows yet.  This is great news for the Windows system which has been the focus of Malicious software and virus' for decades. Unfortunately there is a catch to this and its a big one.  In the past to get access to the new operating system either required an in place 'upgrade' or a fresh install and was available to pretty much everyone.  With Windows 11 however, you need to have a computer which meets a pretty stringent specification most of which requires pretty modern components.  The headline requirements are:

 

• 1Ghz CPU (Processor) which most machines will easily surpass,

• 4Gb of system Ram - again if you are running windows 7 or above, the chances are you already have this,

• 64Gb or free storage space, again no problem. 

 

Here now lies the issue:  The CPU must be one from a compatibility list that is dictated by Microsoft and its a very modern list.  Most CPU's that are older than 3 years will not qualify, rendering them unable to be upgraded beyond their current OS.  From the Intel line-up, this means an 8th Generation or newer Core 'i' CPU or a Zen 2 (or second generation) or newer AMD Ryzen CPU.  The full list can be found here.  This unfortunately rules out 6th and 7th gen Intel CPU's that are still recognised as some of the best Intel have released and are still very capable processors.

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The next issue is the inclusion of TPM 2.0.  TPM (or Trusted Platform Module) is a hardware chip that is used to store encryption keys and can be accessed by the operating system to encrypt and protect files etc.  This is a good thing but unfortunately, up until now, its not been widely adopted beyond those power users running the 'Pro' versions of Windows who use the Bit Locker encryption provided by Windows 8 and beyond (it was actually available on windows vista, but you needed the 'Ultimate' version to be able to take advantage).  Consequently, many motherboards do not have this facility even if the CPU is a newer one.  Some motherboards do have something called a TPM header, this will allow you install a TPM chip which would need to be purchased separately.  Up until the announcement of Windows 11 TPM chips were available and were reasonably priced.  Now they are either out of stock or are significantly more expensive to obtain.  

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In addition to the above, any new user must sign into windows 11 using a Microsoft account.  For most, this is not a deal breaker, but if you are a user that only wishes to have a 'local' account and not be signed up for Microsoft's services, then you would be better placed stickling with Windows 10 until its officially killed off in 2025.