Buying a computer (new, refurb or used) and Windows 11 hardware requirements

Haydon · Mar 11, 2023

A significant part of Dell's product portfolio still has this

OS: Windows 10 Pro (Includes free upgrade to Windows 11 Pro)

I wouldn't buy the above, but I would buy from the product portfolio that has the following

OS: Windows 11 Pro

I just feel more comfortable buying from a reputable OEM the final product as I would use it, and not something that I would have to upgrade.

Also, 16 GB installed OOB, NOT 8 GB OOB then add.

etc.

spapakons · Mar 11, 2023

Unless you play games or do some resource demanding task (such as video editing) you won't notice any difference between 8GB and 16GB, but of course is good to think ahead and make your computer as future proof as you can afford.

Porthos · Mar 11, 2023

Haydon said:
A significant part of Dell's product portfolio still has this

OS: Windows 10 Pro (Includes free upgrade to Windows 11 Pro)

The only ones I have seen this with are business class like optiplex, precision, and latitude.

Lesoudeur · Mar 11, 2023

spapakons said:
Any computer with 8th generation or higher Intel CPU or 2nd generation or higher AMD Ryzen CPU, at least 4GB RAM, at least 64GB disk space, UEFI firmware, TMP 2.0 and Secure Boot should meet the Windows 11 requirements. For anything else that has at least a dual core 64-bit or single core 64-bit with Hyperthreading CPU and 2GB RAM can take Windows 11 if you bypass compatibility check at installation. I once had installed Windows 11 on a single core 64-bit Intel Celeron CPU without hyperthreading and with just 2GB RAM. It was rather slow and could not take Windows 11 directly. I had to install at another computer, create a local account and then put the disk in the Celeron computer. Any attempt to create the initial user account at the Celeron failed due to some incompatibility. So at least dual core or single core with Hyperthreading (such as the first Intel Pentium 6xx 64-bit CPUs) is the minimum if you bypass compatibility check. If you want a Windows 11 compliant computer, anything of Intel 8th gen or higher or AMD Ryzer 2nd gen or higher that satisfies all the above requirements.

Plus Core X Skylake-X (14 nm, 7th generation)

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

mackie said:
When buying a brand new computer advertised with OS= Windows 11, is it safe to assume that nowadays they meet all the hardware requirements for Win 11?

YES!!! And this is a Microsoft requirement to vendors selling PCs with Windows 11. So, unless you're dealing with unscrupulous vendors any PC sold today with Windows 11 is fully compliant.

Good luck in your search.

cereberus · Mar 11, 2023

Dru2 said:
YES!!! And this is a Microsoft requirement to vendors selling PCs with Windows 11. So, unless you're dealing with unscrupulous vendors any PC sold today with Windows 11 is fully compliant.

Good luck in your search.

For vendors shipping new pcs maybe. A lot of pcs are refurbished - it is these that are the main issue. MS are not going to police this sort of sale.

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

cereberus said:
For vendors shipping new pcs maybe. A lot of pcs are refurbished - it is these that are the main issue. MS are not going to police this sort of sale.

I know there's always going to be an "on the contrary" post but I'm not sure what's not clear in my answer

What the OP asked...

mackie said:
When buying a brand new computer advertised with OS= Windows 11, is it safe to assume that nowadays they meet all the hardware requirements for Win 11?

What I said...

Dru2 said:
YES!!! And this is a Microsoft requirement to vendors selling PCs with Windows 11. So, unless you're dealing with unscrupulous vendors any PC sold today with Windows 11 is fully compliant.

Yes, life if full of "what ifs and what about isms but since no one can account for every one of them, we can only give the most applicable answer for that situation

MisterEd · Mar 11, 2023

I just saw a YouTube video where someone just bought 10 off-lease HP EliteDesk mini computers. He complained that they all had Windows 11 Pro installed on them even though it was apparent they were not Windows 11 compatible. He wiped the drives and installed Windows 10 Pro on them instead.

I see something on Amazon that looks to be the same: HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Desktop Mini Business PC, Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1G,16G DDR4,240G SSD,VGA,DP,Win 10 Pro 64 bit-Multi-Language Support English/Spanish

What probably happened was that these off-lease computers probably had their original hard drives removed by the leasing company. The buyer needed to install a new drive and operating system. They installed a small SSD and Windows 11. Note these computers probably had their Windows key in the BIOS so they would automatically activate with Windows 10 or 11. Windows 11 was chosen because it looked better in the ad.

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

MisterEd said:
I just saw a YouTube video where someone just bought 10 off-lease HP EliteDesk mini computers. He complained that they all had Windows 11 Pro installed on them even though it was apparent they were not Windows 11 compatible. He wiped the drives and installed Windows 10 Pro on them instead.

lots of folks post all sorts of things online but rarely do we get the full story.

That said, it's probably true they all had 11 installed considering they were "leased" PCs, meaning whoever was "leasing" them installed the OS outside of what HP had on them. That happens.

MisterEd · Mar 11, 2023

Dru2 said:
lots of folks post all sorts of things online but rarely do we get the full story.

That said, it's probably true they all had 11 installed considering they were "leased" PCs, meaning whoever was "leasing" them installed the OS outside of what HP had on them. That happens.

I think you misunderstood what probably happened. The original leaser probably had HP OEM Windows 10 Pro on them. When they turned them back in they probably asked for security reasons to have the hard drives removed. The computers were probably sold at an auction. Whoever bought them added a cheap SSD and and an operating system. The seller had the choice of either installing Windows 10 or 11 since there was no cost involved they probably chose Windows 11 because it looked better in the ad.

SIW2 · Mar 11, 2023

mackie said:
When buying a brand new computer advertised with OS= Windows 11, is it safe to assume that nowadays they meet all the hardware requirements for Win 11? Or do you still have to go through a lot of self searching hoops to make sure all the individual components meet the specs? That's basically what buyers had to do right after MS first came out with their new hardware requirements and not all the manufacturers were onboard. Now that some time has passed, are they pretty much all on board for meeting the specs?

What would be your approach to buying a refurbished one advertised with OS= Windows 11?

And then if you saw a real good deal for a used one advertised with OS= Windows 11?

Older machines have often had win11 installed using the workarounds. I have seen intel 3rd gen dell and hp refurbs offerred on Amazon with win11 installed.

For intel you would be looking for 8th gen cpu and newer to officially meet the specs. [someof the microsoft surface with particular 7th gen cpus also pass].

mackie · Mar 11, 2023

It would be helpful if sellers put a simple statement by the specs that said something like: This pc meets the MS hardware requirements for Windows 11…… or doesn’t.

I haven’t seen any seller online make any similar comment. So it’s up to the buyer to research it out. The whole thing unfortunately adds another layer of confusion for the average person that probably doesn’t have the time or inclination to do so.

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

MisterEd said:
I think you misunderstood what probably happened. The original leaser probably had HP OEM Windows 10 Pro on them. When they turned them back in they probably asked for security reasons to have the hard drives removed. The computers were probably sold at an auction. Whoever bought them added a cheap SSD and and an operating system. The seller had the choice of either installing Windows 10 or 11 since there was no cost involved they probably chose Windows 11 because it looked better in the ad.

I don't disagree with that. I alos understand things happen. I think he saw a good deal and took advantage of it. The only thing is he had to change the OS. I don't think that's a bad exchange. And it you want the plus... you're installing a fresh OS on the machine. That's time but worth it

But it still goes to my point they weren't acquired through HP

MisterEd · Mar 11, 2023

To a lesser extent a similar thing happened with Windows Vista. Some computers were sold new with Windows Vista that didn't meet the minimum requirements for it. There was a class-action lawsuit filed because of that. Hopefully, manufactures learned their lesson and not repeat the same mistake with Windows 11.

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

mackie said:
It would be helpful if sellers put a simple statement by the specs that said something like: This pc meets the MS hardware requirements for Windows 11…… or doesn’t.

You may have not notice it, but Microsoft makes clear the minimum requirements for its products - Windows 11 tells you the hardware.

Haydon · Mar 11, 2023

MisterEd said:
they probably chose Windows 11 because it looked better in the ad.

Yeah, they didn't choose Windows 13 because it looks bad in the ad

Just kidding

Winuser · Mar 11, 2023

Try3 said:
No, no, no.
Having Windows 11 is not a certification of compatibility.

If it has Windows 11 then the hardware is not fatally incompatible.
You cannot say any more than that.

See post #6.

All the best,
Denis

I have to agree with @badrobot. If a big box store is selling a refurbed OEM computer with Windows 11, It's going to be compliant.

Winuser · Mar 11, 2023

mackie said:
Do you think that applies to refurbished ones with Win 11 that they (the major manufacturers) sell on their websites? I would hope so.

Yes!

Dru2 · Mar 11, 2023

MisterEd said:
To a lesser extent a similar thing happened with Windows Vista. Some computers were sold new with Windows Vista that didn't meet the minimum requirements for it. There was a class-action lawsuit filed because of that. Hopefully, manufactures learned their lesson and not repeat the same mistake with Windows 11.

I don't doubt some people took advantage of "a mix up" as Windows 11 products were hitting the shelves.

But I stand by my earlier statement as evidenced by time Windows 11 and supporting hardware have been in the market now. And why I also mentioned "unscrupulous vendors".

mackie · Mar 11, 2023

Dru2 said:
You may have not notice it, but Microsoft makes clear the minimum requirements for its products - Windows 11 tells you the hardware.

I know Microsoft does, but I was referring to the ads by sellers online, for used, refurbished and new computers.

A simple statement would make things much easier for the average buyer. But, it probably won’t happen.