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Here's What You Need to Know About Windows 11's Requirements


Published: 9-14-2021



WIndows 11
has been officially announced and the good news is that if you currently own Windows 10, you’ll get a free upgrade to Windows 11 when the time comes. Unfortunately, the good news seems to stop there.

First of all, Windows 10 has received its end of service date. It will stop receiving support on October 14, 2025. That doesn’t seem too bad by itself. After all, if we’re all getting free Windows 11 upgrades from Windows 10, why even wait that long? Well, it turns out that Windows 11 has some rather strict system requirements and there’s a good chance a system that you had hoped to get a few more years from may not in fact work at all.

We’re going to try and clear up the situation with Windows 11 right now, but do remember that Microsoft can change these requirements at any time.

Windows 11 and Supported CPUs


If you have a 7th-generation Intel CPU, a first generation Ryzen CPU or anything older than either of these options, Windows 11 will flat out not work with your computer. Despite CPUs of this vintage certainly having more than enough horsepower to run Windows 11, Microsoft seems to be making a clean break from a certain generation of CPU technology.

We aren’t exactly sure why yet. It may be that Windows 11 is written to rely on certain modern CPU microcode functions that are lacking in anything older than the required CPUs.

When 2025 comes around, these older chips could still be doing useful work, but as it stands they won’t be doing anything useful in Windows.

The TPM Situation

Apart from CPUs older than a certain generation being cut out, the other hard requirement is that your computer have a TPM or Trusted Platform Module. This is a special bit of encryption hardware that lives on your motherboard. It’s been a requirement to use BitLocker drive encryption in the past for secure booting, but it’s always been optional. Now that’s not the case anymore.

If you have a motherboard or laptop that was designed for a professional or enterprise market, you almost certainly have a TPM installed. However, if you have a mainstream motherboard or one that’s designed for enthusiasts such as gamers, a TPM is less likely to be present. Since those markets have never really needed one.

With Windows 11 you need to have an active TPM 2.0 solution in your computer or the operating system will refuse to install. Some motherboards have a header where you can add a TPM as an add-on component, but that’s a relatively rare feature and usually only appears on server or other professional boards.

Don’t Forget About Firmware TPM

Even if your motherboard doesn’t have a hardware TPM, you may still be in luck. Most recent AMD and Intel CPUs have firmware TPMs built into the chip.

The only fly in the ointment here is that most motherboard makers have this function disabled by default. You’ll have to boot into the BIOS or UEFI menu and look for a setting to activate your firmware TPM. The actual label for this function may differ from one motherboard to the next, so check the manual if you can’t find it.

Unfortunately, even if you have a CPU with a firmware TPM, the motherboard maker may have opted not to let you toggle it on. Many boards aimed at mainstream users or gamers have this feature left out to entice professional buyers to go for more expensive enterprise boards. However, now that Windows 11 has made TPMs a hard requirement, we expect plenty of board makers to issue firmware updates that add the feature.





LIST OF COMPATIBLE WORKSTATIONS





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Titan C261 - 13th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Mobile Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores Titan C261 - 13th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Mobile Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores


A Mini ITX workstation might be small and portable, but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise where it really matters. The Titan C261 is equipped with the latest Intel Alder Lake CPUs and full-sized GPU options, which means you can smash professional computing workloads wherever you set up shop.





13th Gen Intel Core Compact / Portable Workstation Computer for:


CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $1,550.00
Titan C361 - 14th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Portable Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores Titan C361 - 14th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Portable Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores


Say hello to the Titan C361 - a powerhouse workstation engineered for professionals in CAD/CAM, 3D rendering, and intensive computing tasks at an even more impressive price. Take it anywhere with you!






14th Gen Intel Core Compact / Portable Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation
• Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $1,645.00
Titan C161 - 11th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Compact Workstation PC for CAD Design up to 10 CPU Cores Titan C161 - 11th Gen Intel Core Series Processors Compact Workstation PC for CAD Design up to 10 CPU Cores


Workstation laptops aren’t the only way to take massive computing power with you on the road (or to the next room). Featuring the brilliant portable Lian Li TU150A case, the Titan C161 lets you take the performance to where it’s needed most.






11th Gen Intel Core Compact / Portable Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $1,795.00
Titan C200 - AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Compact Workstation PC up to 16 cores - up to 16 cores & 32 threads Titan C200 - AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Processors Compact Workstation PC - up to 16 cores


AMD’s latest Ryzen CPUs pack more cores in a smaller space than ever, so why not pack those cores into a smaller case than ever? We’ve taken the amazing portable Lian Li TU150A case and equipped it with as many as 16 cores (six as standard) so you’ll never run out of threads no matter where you are.





AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Compact / Portable Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $1,899.00
Titan C270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors Compact Workstation PC for CAD/CAM - up to 16 cores Titan C270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors Compact Workstation PC for CAD/CAM - up to 16 cores


The Titan C270 is a compact yet powerful workstation PC designed to harness the performance of AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors, with up to 16 cores of CPU power. Tailored for professionals in CAD/CAM and beyond, the C270 combines portability with performance.




AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Compact / Portable Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $2,240.00
Titan W480 - Intel Xeon W-1300 Series Processors Workstation PC for CAD 3D Design up to 8 CPU Cores Titan W480 - Intel Xeon W-1300 Series Processors Workstation PC for CAD 3D Design up to 8 CPU Cores


The W480 offers potent multi-threaded performance and lightning-fast dual-Thunderbolt 3 external peripheral support. Making it an affordable way to access hot-swappable high-speed external storage. So whether you’re working through multiple CAD projects or need a hot-swappable editing workstation, the W480 offers an amazing platform to get the job done.





Intel Xeon W-1300 Series Processors Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $2,279.00
Titan A200 - AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Professional Ultra Fast Workstation PC - up to 16 cores Titan A200 - AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Professional Ultra Fast Workstation PC - up to 16 cores


Our fan-favorite Titan A200 receives a massive multi-core update. Using the latest technology from AMD, this is the perfect machine for users who have plenty of threads in their applications, but are working within a budget. All while trading per-core performance blows with the competition





AMD RYZEN 5000 Series Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $2,410.00
Titan S270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors  4U Rackmount Workstation Computer - up to 16 cores Titan S270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors 4U Rackmount Workstation Computer - up to 16 cores


AMD’s superlative 7000-series CPUs offer amazing per-core performance, high core counts, and peerless value for money. So why not pack SAVE those advantages into a server rack system and create a powerhouse budget workstation solution? That’s exactly what we did.





4U Rackmount Workstation / Server Computer for:

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• Data Analysis • AI / Deep Learning Computing • Media / Video Streaming • Cloud Gaming • Animation and Modeling • Design & Visualization • 3D Rendering • Diagnostic Imaging • Machine Learning

Starting Price: $2,475.00
Titan A270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Professional  Workstation Computer - up to 16 cores Titan A270 - AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Professional Workstation Computer - up to 16 cores

Our fan-favorite Titan A270 receives a massive multi-core update. Using the latest technology from AMD, this is the perfect machine for users who have plenty of threads in their applications, but are working within a budget. All while trading per-core performance blows with the competition





AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $2,550.00
Titan Vulcan 24 - Overclocked 14th Gen Intel Core Processors Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores Titan Vulcan 24 - Overclocked 14th Gen Intel Core Processors Mini ITX Workstation PC for CAD/CAM up to 24 CPU Cores


Introducing the extraordinary Titan Vulcan 24, an AI-Overclocked 13th Gen Intel Core Processors Mini ITX Workstation PC, crafted for CAD/CAM enthusiasts who demand peak performance without compromise.





14th Gen Intel Core Overclocked Workstation Computer for:

CAD/CAM • Graphic Design • 3D Modeling • CGI • Computer Animation • Video Editing • Design & Visualization • Gaming

Starting Price: $4,395.00
   
 
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