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by Sherl 1812 days ago
So my perfectly fine Thinkpad P51 can't run a win11 because of processor requirements? Are they selling CPU chips or Windows 11 to the market??
3 comments

It's very probable that Windows 11 will run on your P51. You may have a warning advising you to stay on Windows 10, but it will fit the hard floor so you will be able to upgrade regardless.

IIRC the hard minimal req different from Win 10 is a TPM, 64 bits >= dual core, I think UEFI + secure boot, and WDDM >= 2.0. I just checked on a Kaby Lake and I have everything needed.

The published list of processors is probably for the soft floor and/or for OEMs.

Now, knowing MS and especially the situation in regard with some processors following the Win7 -> 10 migration, there is always the risk they fuck up the support even more for unlisted processor, voluntarily or not...

It is very clearly stated that TPM isn't the requirement but "intel 8th gen and Ryzen 2nd gen" is the cut-off.

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1351028-microsoft-makes-thin...

I think wait and see. That kind of CPU req published now sorta makes sense for OEMs, but for computers to upgrade, just WTF. Does MS really want a split install base to mostly Win 10 machines and a just a few 11? And BTW there is this "little" shortage and high demand that is supposed to continue for years; and Skylake or even before are (lets say at least for core ones: more than) perfectly capable of running Win 11.

So a hard cut-off at Intel 8th gen and Ryzen 2nd gen really makes no strategic sense whatsoever. I have no doubt MS employs plenty of clueless people, but maybe not going that far to insanity-land.

I mean I was starting to consider switching to a Mac, undecided still, but if MS persist this will really be a no-brainer.

Strange given that Ryzen 2000 is just a die shrink.
Ofc it will run on it.

The specs are especially for CPUs are for manufacturer and never list discontinued CPUs. If you look at the same specs for win 10 you would assume it needs modem hardware but it does not it runs on 10 year old laptop.

I tested the leaked version on single core CPU with 1GB ram and it just works. (probably not enough ram to install updates but it boots)

Are you sure it doesn't have PTT? AFAIK recent-ish intel CPUs should have TPM support using the trusted computing capabilities of the CPU itself, without the need for a discrete TPM chip.
Microsoft has clarified on Twitter of all places that TPM 2.0 isn't the only requirement. It must be 8th Gen Intel or 2nd Gen Ryzen or newer regardless of whether it has a TPM.
But no one actually cares if it meats the requirement. What matters is only if it runs. Unless you need some kind of MS verified system.

The fact is the leaked version runs on a 10 year old toster. the only limit is 64-bit CPU.

What CPUs have TPMs?
>Firmware TPMs are firmware-based (e.g. UEFI) solutions that run in a CPU's trusted execution environment. Intel, AMD and Qualcomm have implemented firmware TPMs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module