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Microsoft announces Windows 11 supported AMD and Intel processors, leaving over a dozen Surface devices as casualties

Windows 11 will not run on over a dozen Surface devices. (Image source: Microsoft)
Windows 11 will not run on over a dozen Surface devices. (Image source: Microsoft)
Windows 11 is here, and Microsoft has announced the AMD and Intel processors with which it is compatible. There are a few surprising omissions though, and ones that cut over a dozen Surface devices adrift on Windows 10.

Microsoft has revealed which AMD and Intel processors will work with Windows 11, its next generation of Windows. The lists are too long to repeat here, but you can find them in the appropriate hyperlinks. Surprisingly, Microsoft has dropped support for multiple processor generations that run Windows 10 without any problems.

In short, Windows 11 only supports 8th generation Intel processors or newer. For Microsoft's Surface series, it means that Windows 11 drops support for all devices released before 2018, apart from the Surface Book 2. The Surface Studio 2 has missed the cut though, despite being less than three years old. The list of Surface devices that Windows 11 does not support is as follows:

  • Surface 3
  • Surface Book
  • Surface Book 2 (Core i5-7300U)
  • Surface Go
  • Surface Hub
  • Surface Laptop
  • Surface Pro
  • Surface Pro 2
  • Surface Pro 3
  • Surface Pro 4
  • Surface Pro (2017)
  • Surface Studio
  • Surface Studio 2

The list of supported AMD processors is equally strange. For example, Windows 11 does not support the Ryzen Threadripper 1900X, Threadripper 1920X or the Threadripper 1950X, but it can run on a Ryzen 3 3200U. Likewise, Windows 11 supports much less powerful processors like the Athlon Silver 3050C or the AMD 3015e.

However, it will be possible to run Windows 11 on unsupported processors if they meet Microsoft's Windows Insider Program requirements. You can check if your machine meets Microsoft's compatibility requirements using its Windows PC Health Check application.

Source(s)

Microsoft (1) (2) & @windowsdev

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 06 > Microsoft announces Windows 11 supported AMD and Intel processors, leaving over a dozen Surface devices as a casualties
Alex Alderson, 2021-06-25 (Update: 2021-06-25)