this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
216 points (98.6% liked)

Technology

66608 readers
5475 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

In a nutshell: As Microsoft prepares to end free security updates for Windows 10 in October, a significant challenge looms for charities that refurbish and distribute older computers to those in need. With an estimated 240 million PCs unable to meet the stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11, these organizations face a difficult decision: provide potentially insecure Windows 10 systems, send them to e-waste recyclers, or explore alternative operating systems like Linux.

Microsoft's requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 compatibility. However, the supported Intel CPU list only goes back to 8th Gen chips, introduced in 2017, while the AMD list includes Ryzen 2000 series and above.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 41 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (3 children)

Microsoft's requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage,

All of this is no problem and essentially any computer manufactured in the last couple decades can meet these requirements. They're effectively irrelevant for this discussion.

Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 compatibility.

This is the problem right here. Pretty much every last computer you hear about that isn't compatible it's one or both of these, almost always the TPM 2.0 module.

That of course is if the reason you aren't "upgrading" is because the hardware isn't supported. For a great many of us our hardware is supported, we just don't want all the bullshit anti-features Microsoft has crammed into Windows 11. Windows 10 was already bad enough with it's constant telemetry spyware, that annoying Cortana garbage shoehorned in anywhere they could manage, the absolute atrocity that they turned the start menu search function into, and the annoying Teams and OneDrive integrations that randomly reinstalled and re-enabled themselves after updates.

Then MS went and had to cram in even more spyware by way of their horrible copilot garbage. All for what? What are we getting with 11 that's better than 10? What feature justifies that upgrade? Nothing, that's the answer. There's no reason at all that 11 needed to be made.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Microsoft's requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage,

All of this is no problem and essentially any computer manufactured in the last couple decades can meet these requirements. They're effectively irrelevant for this discussion.

IDK about you, but the Pentium 4 is not an ideal CPU for modern workloads. The absolute oldest hardware I would use today for anything is the Core2Duo with 8GB RAM. I know this because we have an A1276 MacBook Pro with the P8600 C2D, and it's barely sufficient. You look at it and the cooling fan begins a launch sequence 😅 and that's running Linux Mint. Windows 10/11 would grind it to a halt trying to run multiple tasks.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

All of this is no problem and essentially any computer manufactured in the last couple decades can meet these requirements. They're effectively irrelevant for this discussion.

Not quite. Windows 11 requires an Intel 8th gen or AMD Zen+ CPU or newer, with some odd exceptions. I've dealt with some machines that only fail on the CPU check and can confirm that Windows 11 will refuse to install without bypassing those arbitrary 'requirements'.

I do agree with the rest of your post though.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I will leave this here for anyone who needs to use Windows but wants a little more privacy.

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10