Contrary to a recent Microsoft technical note could suggest, PCs equipped with 8th, 9th and 10th generation intel chips will be able to run Windows 11.
A small panic wind has briefly blew in recent days on the web following the dissemination of astonishing information suggesting that Windows 11 would soon no longer work on PCs equipped with slightly old Intel processors, in this case, chips 8th, 9th and 10th generation. This news, which obviously worried the users of these not very old and still perfectly functional computers, came from a technical document that Microsoft recently updated without suspecting that it would cause these reactions.
And for good reason, this document published on February 13, 2025 was misunderstood by the people who interpreted and disseminated it. In reality, they act onA technical note Intended for PC manufacturers and integrators (OEMs in the jargon) in which Microsoft details the list of intel processors recommended to make new PCs by taking advantage of future Windows developments. Very logically, the publisher has focused on recent fleas, excluding old models: it would be ridiculous to advise Den 2025 to manufacture new computers using processors dating from 2017 or 2018! This is why Microsoft voluntarily excluded from his list of old chips.
But that does not mean that they will no longer be able to run Windows 11. Contacted by the bloodhounds of Windows Latestwho always follow very closely everything related to Windows, Microsoft has specified that this document only concerned manufacturers, not consumers, and, above all, that the material requirements for Windows 11 had not evolved since the release of this system, in October 2021.
So useless to panic if you have a somewhat old PC: it can continue to work with Windows 11 for a while, even if it is devoid of NPU, this famous calculation unit dedicated to AI that Microsoft now requires for benefit from the Copilot+label. Admittedly, we can imagine that the publisher will further push the integration and use of AI into its products, and it is likely that Copilot – or the technological that will succeed him – or at the heart of future versions of Windows, which will not be to everyone’s taste. While waiting for this not necessarily joyful day, Microsoft already has a lot to do to finalize Windows 11, which still suffers from many bugs and faults as proves the recent version broadcast with the Tuesday patch of February 2025, and, above all, to convince users From Windows 10, still in the majority, to throw their old PC to adopt Windows by the end of the medium scheduled for October 2025.