Here are the CPUs that officially can run Windows 11 - PCWorld

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

At 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

Currently, 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

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