Do you own a reasonably modern PC? If you use Windows on your PC, you likely have Windows 10. Mainly because Windows 10 was released in 2015. Your PC may have come pre-installed with Windows 10, or you upgraded from an older version of Windows.

The Future of Windows

In 2015 some developers within Microsoft thought Windows 10 was the last version ever. The Verge reported quoted developer Jerry Nixon, who said: "Right now we're releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we're all still working on Windows 10."

Six years later, we anticipate the launch of Windows 11. A version of Windows that by some accounts should not exist. But it is a welcome addition to the Windows family. Windows 11 provides superior security and user experience.

I recently wrote an article about some features of Windows 11 you will likely appreciate. After reading that article, you might want to install Windows 11 on your computer. Before you can do that, you need to make sure that your PC is ready.

Understanding system requirements

When Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, they send out information about the minimum system requirements. Microsoft assures that when we meet these requirements, we will have the best possible Windows experience.

For example, Windows 10 came with the following minimum requirements.

1 (GHz) or faster compatible processor or System on a Chip (SoC) 1 (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit 32GB or larger hard disk Graphics card compatible with DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver 800x600 pixel size monitor Internet Connection

The first thing you will probably notice is the note about compatible processors. This suggests that not all 1GB and faster processors are compatible with Windows 10. With every major update to Windows 10, Microsoft released a new list of supported processors

The list has 3 columns. For Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors.

When you look at the 32 GB size of a hard drive, this does not mean that Windows 10 will take up all the 32 GB of space. To run Windows, you need to give it some space for temporary files, updates, backups, error logs, and so on.

When looking at the graphics card, you can see that WDDM 1.0 is needed. WDDM stands for Windows Display Driver module.

There are a couple of simple septs to check and see your WDDM version.

1. RUN DxDiag
2. GO TO the "display" tab
3. On the right in the subsection "drivers," locate Driver Model:

It should look something like this:

Windows 11 ready

Windows 11 comes with its own set of requirements. These requirements are significantly higher than those for Windows 10. Those of you currently using Windows 10 might not be able to upgrade to Windows 11. By upgrade, I mean installing Windows 11 from Windows update.

Let's look at the exact requirements for Windows 11 and see what it means for you.

The system requirements of Windows 11 at launch will be as follows:

1(GHz) or faster processor with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)

4 GB of RAM 64 GB or larger hard disk UEFI bios with Secure boot enabled Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 present on the motherboard and activated Graphics card supporting DirectX 12 and at least WDDM 2.0 720p display with 8bit color Internet connection

Using Windows 10 with just 2 GB of RAM (tested in a virtual environment) was not a pleasant experience, so the upgrade to 4GB makes sense. This also means Windows 11 will be available only in the 64-bit version. Digitaltrends wrote a great article summarizing the benefits of the 64-bit software.

The 64 GB minimum hard drive space seems to aim at tablets that often have a minimal amount of available storage. I have used Windows 10 on a tablet with 64 GB of storage, and it definitely was not fast and smooth. Again this incremental increase makes sense to me.

Microsoft explains why we need the Secure boot and what it does. From what I understand, secure boot is a tool that helps ensure that only the right software has a chance to start inside the computer's start-up sequence. Making sure that no virus has a chance to infect the computer before any antivirus can spot it.

The TPM 2.0 is another hardware-based security feature, which helps protect you from unwanted viruses. It just shows me that Microsoft is taking security very seriously.

Those of you, who have already seen some pictures or videos of Windows 11, probably noticed that it looks immaculate and esthetically pleasing. The visual side of Windows requires proper graphics drivers and software to run smoothly. It seems like a big jump from DirectX 9 on Windows 10 to DirectX12 on Windows 11. As the hardware advances rather quickly, it makes sense that Microsoft would support only hardware, which allows for all the features to work.

There are two ways you can check if you meet all these requirements:

1. Manual — looking around your operating system for all the needed data. Some of these requirements, like the presence of UEFI bios, might be harder to check because you may have never seen BIOS before. If that is the case, please do not try to access your BIOS on your own. You may cause damage to your computer if you tinker with some settings there.
2. Automatic — Microsoft released a handy tool that checks all the needed parameters and lets you know if your PC is compatible with Windows 11. The tool is currently in a preview state. I will add a direct link once Microsoft releases the final product.

Even if you cannot upgrade to Windows 11, you still have 4 more years of full support on Windows 10. Support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. This should give you enough time to buy a new computer or find an alternative operating system.

Conclusion

Every piece of software has its own minimum requirements. If your PC meets these requirements, you can ensure that your experience with a given software will be outstanding. I would say even as good as the programmers intended.

In this article, I introduced and explained the system requirements of Windows 10 and the upcoming Windows 11. I took the time to explain what these requirements mean and why certain items are likely needed.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments.