As Microsoft plans to sunset Windows 10 in less than a year, users with processors older than Intel's 8th Gen CPUs and AMD's Ryzen 2000 series will have no choice but to pay a $30 yearly to Microsoft in order to receive security patches in the form of ESUs (Extended Security Upgrades). In a new blog post, Microsoft restates that it has no plans to lower the minimum requirements for Windows 11 and asks users to upgrade their PCs instead.
Microsoft has set TPM 2.0 as a mandatory prerequisite for Windows 11. TPM or Trusted Platform Module is a security chip found in most modern computers - enabling hardware-level encryption and security. This separate chip isolates critical processes such as cryptography, storing and using keys, generating random numbers from the CPU.
TPM carries out a lot of security-oriented functions that Microsoft cannot forego for the sake of compatibility. CPUs with TPM 2.0 support - Intel's 8th Gen (Coffee Lake) and AMD's Ryzen 2000 (Zen+) processors or later - can easily update to Windows 11. In the case of slightly older models with TPM 1.2 functionality, support is finicky but some Registry wizardry can get the job done.
The latest data from StatCounter reports that 61.82% of Windows desktop users are still on Windows 10. With its inevitable EOL (End Of Life) nearing, Microsoft doubles down on its stringent requirements, citing TPM 2.0 as a "non-negotiable standard for the future of Windows." Likewise, Windows 11 employs several features that rely on TPM 2.0 such as BitLocker, Secure Boot, and MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication).
Microsoft has made it crystal clear that PCs not compliant with this requirement will not be able to use Windows 11. Among the recommended solutions, the firm asks users to upgrade their systems - and realistically that's the only last-resort solution if your setup is pretty old. We're going to play the devil's advocate here but Microsoft's reasoning goes a bit beyond TPM support. Haswell launched in 2013 - more than 10 years ago - and CPUs predating Haswell are not the best at running Windows 11 fluidly. Plus these processors lack essential CPU instructions such as AVX2 (See Ivy Bridge).
Once support halts, you can get a new PC, upgrade your PC (if possible), pay the $30. Alternatively, perhaps now is the time to enter the world of Linux? Check out our guide on how to dual-boot Linux (Ubuntu) with Windows and kickstart your Linux journey.
