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News hardware & software 03 November 2021, 18:35

author: Artur Flaga

Windows 11 Running on a 15 Year Old PC

Windows 11 was installed and running on a 15+-year-old PC, despite the fact that theoretically it shouldn't work.

IN A NUTSHELL:

  • Carlos S.M. installed and launched Windows 11 on a 15+ year old PC;
  • The computer does not meet the minimum requirements to run the system. Despite that, it works without any major complaints.

Windows 11 is a system that, according to Microsoft, should run mostly on newer machines. However, there are users who are willing to take the time to see how low the definition of a "newer device" goes. One such person is Carlos S.M., who, first on Twitter and later on a video, showed a successful attempt to fire up the new Windows on a PC that has, among other things, a 15-year-old processor.

The following components can be found inside this computer:

  • Intel Pentium 4 661 3.6 GHz (released in 2006);
  • ASUS P5Q (released in 2008);
  • 4 GB of DDR2 RAM running at 800 MHz (DDR2 came out in 2003);
  • Nvidia GeForce GT 710 2 GB DDR3 (released in 2016);
  • Micron RealSSD C400 120 GB drive.

To be able to install Windows 11 on this machine, Carlos used Windows PE (Windows pre-installation environment). On the recording, you can see that the system runs with quite significant delays. But it's not surprising, considering how old some of the components are. The author also checks how/whether various programs work, including CPU-Z, a modern performance testing app.

Looking at the minimum requirements of Windows 11, it shouldn't be possible to run the system on this computer, given that the CPU doesn't meet the minimum requirements. The only thing the CPU holds its ground is clocking.

The main requirements of the system also include having TMP 2.0, a security feature that is present in newer CPUs. The oldest CPU that supports this feature is from 2017.

Although Microsoft has provided users with ways to install the new Windows on older computers, the corporation has warned that the systems may not be upgradeable on them. However, Carlos S.M. was able to normally upload the update within the deadline, which proves that you don't need powerful hardware to be able to use Windows 11.