Hello,
When I run the PC Health Check utility on both of my desktop and laptop they both raise the "The processor isn't currently supported for Windows 11" alert.
My machines are:
Desktop: DELL XPS8900. Purchased in 2016
Laptop: DELL XPS15. Purchased in 2017
Is it possible and worth it to upgrade their processors or just purchase new machines?
Thanks
Stu
Yes, it's possible, someone here has even written a short guide. There is more than one way to do it.
Fast Guide : Upgrade to Windows 11 for non TPM 2.0 capable PCs
Is it worth it? My view- no. E.g. the taskbar is far less functional than Win 10's.
Want to try it relatively painlessly? Run Win 11 in a virtual machine. E.g. Hypervisor or VirtualBox (free).
Win 11's store is coming - supposedly- to Win 10 - I saw that someone who tried that wanted the existing Store back!
Win 10 is supported for another 5 years approx.
Windows 11 is pretty much just Windows 10 with some menus rearranged.
Keep those PC's as is until there is a real need to replace, e.g., no longer working or need for more space or performance.
I don't think it's worth the risk of being on Windows 11 and suddenly not getting updates on unsupported hardware, unless you don't mind having to restore your Windows 10 backup and then having to sync whatever changes you made since going to Windows 11 - which could be months or years down the road.
But if you're in the clean-install frequently club, that won't be an issue.
In my opinion, even if the risk of going to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is zero, there is no practical reason for doing so at this time. 11 offers mainly cosmetic changes. The device security features it requires are available in Windows 10, fi your hardware supports them.
Maybe 11 will offer significant feature upgrades in the future, but no much so far. (The exception would be for people with the new Intel Gen 12 CPUs. Not relevant to those with 11th gen or older, or people with AMD CPUs like me.)
That, from someone who went to 11 on both desktop PCs. Just for fun.
The only reason I got a new Notebook a month ago for Win11 is looking to future support of some of my clients for when they Upgrade, right now none of their computers meet the full Win11 requirements. I have 4 excellent Desktops on Win10 and will do the 'unsupported' Upgrade to Win11 on one of them. Microsoft has announced that Win10 will reach EOL on Oct. 14, 2025, I hope to be around at least that long.
Based on U.S. Government website traffic, nearly 1 in 5 visitors who use PCs are still running Windows 7. It appears to still be running on at least 100 millions machines in the US. Windows 10 is going to stick even more with the HW restriction 11 imposes. Who is going to trash a good 4-5-6-7 gen machine for a pure windows 11 ?
Having visited some offices such a vet, medical clinic, dentist, etc., the last couple of years shows they are running expensive proprietary programs that apparently have not been upgrade so the firms are staying on what works even if they have to pay more for support. Heard the other day mechanics will have a tough time with working on all-electric cars, diagnostic machines will have to be changed.
Like prices of older second-hand cars- especially vintage ones free of road tax- expect a further increase in the price of decent 2nd-hand PCs as time goes by. (Currently possibly exacerbated by chip shortages and supply issues).
A dystopian picture of the future- Britain's so-called and now derided 'smart' motorways where the hard shoulder - historically the unused left-most lane left for emergencies is now used for traffic - is blocked by non-maintained failed electric vehicles causing tail-back accidents... and people with EVs having a spare petrol car for when their EV is out of action for weeks or months whilst queuing for scarce maintenance and part shortages.
Quote