A new operating system incompatible with older hardware—that’s surely another MacOS announcement, right? Not this time. Windows users could soon find themselves in the same boat as Apple fans: Following close behind Thursday’s official announcement of Windows 11 was the reveal of much stricter hardware compatibility for Windows 10’s successor.
Unlike previous generations of the operating system, Windows 11 tacks on tougher security requirements, like the presence of a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 and the ability to use Secure Boot. In a mild surprise, Microsoft has already named specific processors that are cleared for the next era of Windows.
Much remains to be explained—such as the criteria for getting the green light—but for now, if you’re curious whether your chip made the cut, you can check. To make it easier, we dug in and pulled out the most commonly found CPUs on the list, which you’ll find below.
Is your processor not called out as compatible? Keep in mind that we’re still early into the reveal of Windows 11. Absence from the list may not be the ultimate restricting factor for installing Windows 11 on your system. We’ll update with more info here and in our Windows 11 coverage guide as we learn more.
Intel CPUs compatible with Windows 11
Gordon Mah UngAt the moment, Intel processors compatible with Windows 11 date back to mid-2017 and no earlier. Think 8th-generation CPUs and beyond. Microsoft has the full rundown on its site, which includes Pentium, Celeron, and Xeon chips. For ease of scanning, we’ve culled that list to a handful of the common mainstream consumer processors from each generation.
Intel 8th generation (“Coffee Lake,” “Whiskey Lake,” “Amber Lake”)
Desktop
- Core i3-8100
- Core i5-8400
- Core i5-8600
- Core i5-8600K
- Core i7-8700
- Core i7-8700K
- Core i7-8086K
Mobile
- Core m3-8100Y
- Core i5-8200Y
- Core i3-8130U
- Core i3-8145U
- Core i3-8100H
- Core i5-8250U
- Core i5-8250U
- Core i5-8400H
- Core i7-8650U
- Core i7-8665U
- Core i7-8750H
Intel 9th generation (“Coffee Lake Refresh”)
Desktop
- Core i3-9100
- Core i5-9400
- Core i5-9600
- Core i5-9600K
- Core i7-9700
- Core i7-9700K
- Core i9-9900
- Core i9-9900K
Intel 10th generation (“Comet Lake,” “Ice Lake,” “Amber Lake”)
Desktop
- Core i3-10100
- Core i5-10400
- Core i5-10600
- Core i5-10600K
- Core i7-10700
- Core i7-10700K
- Core i9-10900
- Core i9-10900K
Mobile
- Core i3-10100Y
- Core i3-10100U
- Core i5-10210U
- Core i5-10200H
- Core i5-10400H
- Core i7-10510U
- Core i7-10710U
- Core i7-10750H
- Core i7-10850H
- Core i9-10980HK
Intel 11th generation (“Tiger Lake”)
Desktop
- Core i3-11100
- Core i5-11400
- Core i5-11600
- Core i5-11600K
- Core i7-11700
- Core i7-11700K
- Core i9-11900
- Core i9-11900K
Mobile
- Core i3-1115G4
- Core i5-1135G7
- Core i5-11300H
- Core i7-1165G7
- Core i7-1185G7
- Core i7-11375H
AMD
Gordon Mah UngCurrently, AMD processors approved for Windows 11 date back to 2018. For the most part, that covers 2nd gen Ryzen (Zen+) CPUs and beyond. Microsoft has the full list on its site, which includes Athlon and Epyc chips, but for ease of scanning, we’ve culled it down to the most common mainstream consumer processors from each generation.
We did find a few curious omissions from the full rundown. At the time of publication, the 3300X, 3700, 4600HS, and 5900H were missing.
AMD Ryzen 2000 series (Zen+, Zen*)
Desktop
- Ryzen 3 2300X
- Ryzen 5 2600
- Ryzen 7 2700
- Ryzen 7 2700X
- Ryzen Threadripper 2920X
- Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
- Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
- Ryzen Threadripper 2990X
AMD Ryzen 3000 series (Zen 2, Zen+**)
Desktop
- Ryzen 3 3100
- Ryzen 5 3600
- Ryzen 7 3700X
- Ryzen 9 3900
- Ryzen 9 3900X
- Ryzen 9 3950X
- Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
- Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
- Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
- Ryzen Threadripper 3995WX
- Ryzen 3 3200G**
- Ryzen 5 3400G**
Mobile**
- Ryzen 3 3300U
- Ryzen 5 3500U
- Ryzen 5 3550H
- Ryzen 7 3700U
- Ryzen 7 3750H
AMD Ryzen 4000 series (Zen 2)
Desktop
- Ryzen 3 4300G
- Ryzen 5 4600G
- Ryzen 7 4700G
Mobile
- Ryzen 3 4300U
- Ryzen 5 4500U
- Ryzen 5 4600H
- Ryzen 7 4700U
- Ryzen 7 4800HS
- Ryzen 7 4800H
- Ryzen 9 4900HS
- Ryzen 9 4900H
AMD Ryzen 5000 series (Zen 3)
Desktop
- Ryzen 5 5600X
- Ryzen 7 5800X
- Ryzen 9 5900X
- Ryzen 9 5950X
Mobile
- Ryzen 3 5400U
- Ryzen 5 5600U
- Ryzen 5 5600HS
- Ryzen 5 5600H
- Ryzen 7 5800U
- Ryzen 7 5800HS
- Ryzen 7 5800H
- Ryzen 9 5900HS
- Ryzen 9 5900HX
- Ryzen 9 5980HS
- Ryzen 9 5980HX
