Oldest PC Running Windows 11?

Scannerman · Nov 7, 2025

PurSpyk!! said:
I had Windows 11 running 100% on an i7 990x (original i7 but the extreme version) 2 GTx 1080ti in sli and 24GB ram no issues at all. it even used to boot off an HDD. This was in an X58 Asus motherboard.

Before upgrading the CPU, I used to have an i7 920 installed, with a heavy overclock. so that's a CPU from the end of 2008

Sadly, after shipping this PC halfway across the world, it started to play up, and its currently in storage. I do plan to revive it though at some stage.

I managed the same on a Dell Studio 9000/435T with an i7 960 Bloomfield with an NVIDIA MSI 1050 Ti. Admittedly, I had to tweak the OS but it works. This was also an X58 platform running 24GB of DDR3 RAM (Tri-Channel). This build has also been tucked away because it belongs to my daughter and I'm storing it for her. I also have another X58 platform that runs Win 11 but that one belongs to my other other daughter. I believe that one uses an old i7 920 chip on a GIGABYTE board but she rarely uses the Win 11 boot. None of my girls wants Win 11 and one of them is already asking me to give them Linux. I told them it would be good to have Win 11 as a backup OS. They suffer me this much.

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

Scannerman said:
I managed the same on a Dell Studio 9000/435T with an i7 960 Bloomfield with an NVIDIA MSI 1050 Ti. Admittedly, I had to tweak the OS but it works. This was also an X58 platform running 24GB of DDR3 RAM (Tri-Channel). This build has also been tucked away because it belongs to my daughter and I'm storing it for her. I also have another X58 platform that runs Win 11 but that one belongs to my other other daughter. I believe that one uses an old i7 920 chip on a GIGABYTE board but she rarely uses the Win 11 boot. None of my girls wants Win 11 and one of them is already asking me to give them Linux. I told them it would be good to have Win 11 as a backup OS. They suffer me this much.

@Scannerman WOW! A 2009 CPU with both SSE4.1 & SSE4.2 ?! Incredible.
This should be able to run Windows 11 25H2, and from 2009?!

Intel Core i7-960 - Benchmarks, Specifications, User Reviews & CPU Comparisons

Benchmarks, specifications, and user reviews for Intel Core i7-960. Compare the CPU with other processors and find out how it performs in tests.

www.cpu-monkey.com

Think about THAT, a 2009 CPU that can run Windows 11 25H2 . . . let THAT sink in!

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

Frecklesnoot said:
I do have one other system currently running windows 11 25H2.

AMD FX-8350 8 core, 32gb 1333mhz ram, ATI Radeon 3000 on board graphics, 240gb ssd (windows installed), 4tb HDD (data drive), Networked.
Mainboard: GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 6.0)

This is a backup machine for my Media PC, I will be adding more drives later.

@Frecklesnoot Yes THIS TOO will run Windows 11 25H2 !
Plenty of instruction set features on THIS CPU!
Nice one!

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

Bree said:
The easiest way to make hybrid install media is to take a 23H2 install USB, delete its sources\install.esd (or .wim, or .swm) and replace it with one from the 25H2 USB.

Doesn't get round the SSE4.2 requirement though. It's not just the boot files, the 24H2/25H2 kernel needs SSE4.2 instructions too.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.....

Windows 11 24H2 has un-bypassable hardware requirements... - post #282

@XxXxX & @Bree Certainly worth experimenting with any older PC / CPUs to strecth the possibilities.
Hopefully some of these shared experiences will inspire others in this forum.

I enjoy installing this very decent OS on old PCs and bringing NEW LIFE and usefulness to their existence.
Even the shared experiences of us and hopefully others will provide inspiration so that many users experience a less limited PC / Windows experience knowing what can be done.

Bree · Nov 7, 2025

PCUser said:
Think about THAT, a 2009 CPU that can run Windows 11 25H2 . . . let THAT sink in!

While it can be fascinating to see just how old a processor you can get away with, age is not the only interesting challenge...

PCUser said:
Certainly worth experimenting with any older PC / CPUs to strecth the possibilities.
Hopefully some of these shared experiences will inspire others in this forum.

...my self-imposed task is to get Windows 11 to run on the least appropriate hardware I can find.

Bree said:
You'd be be surprised just how low you can go and still have a useable Windows 11, I know, I've tried .

My least appropriate machine is an old Acer Aspire One AOD270 netbook. There is no TPM of any sort, it has a legacy bios (so no secure boot and MBR boot only). It's Intel Atom N2600 has no working 64 bit display drivers available (so only the Microsoft Basic Adapter can be used). The maximum memory a Cedarview Atom like this one can address is specified by the OEM as 2GB, and by Intel as 2.44 GB. It can in fact, when there's a 4GB RAM in its single slot, make 2.99GB available to the OS. Its HDD has been upgraded to an SSD.

Unfortunately ... 23H2 is the end of the line ... my Atom N2600 lack the SSE4.2 instruction set, without which 24H2 cannot run, or even boot.

Are you happy with Windows 11' - Post #284

Bree said:
With MS having just updated the MCT to build 26200.6899 I thought it was time to re-test the known workarounds with a clean install....

With my 'least appropriate' laptop falling at the SSE4.2 hurdle testing duties fell to my 2nd most inappropriate laptop, a Toshiba L750 from 2011, a Legacy BIOS machine with no TPM and a Pentium B950.

Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware - Post #2,948

Scannerman · Nov 7, 2025

PCUser said:
@Scannerman WOW! A 2009 CPU with both SSE4.1 & SSE4.2 ?! Incredible.
This should be able to run Windows 11 25H2, and from 2009?!

Intel Core i7-960 - Benchmarks, Specifications, User Reviews & CPU Comparisons

Benchmarks, specifications, and user reviews for Intel Core i7-960. Compare the CPU with other processors and find out how it performs in tests.

www.cpu-monkey.com

Think about THAT, a 2009 CPU that can run Windows 11 25H2 . . . let THAT sink in!

View attachment 151930

YES but to be fair, I cheated. No way I could get that to install without Rufus and a little tweaking.

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

Scannerman said:
YES but to be fair, I cheated. No way I could get that to install without Rufus and a little tweaking.

BUT STILL!!! FANTASTIC! IT'S FREAKING 15 YEARS OLD AND RUNNING WINDOWS 11 25H2?!

Scannerman · Nov 7, 2025

But they don't like it! So installing it was just one of those "let's see if I can" sort of things. I didn't get any BSODs but I didn't use it extensively either as these installations were not made on my PC. I just told my girls they might need it for backup. TBH installing it on the X58 platform was easier than installing 23H2 on my work station which was only 5 years old before Windows 11 was released. That old Dell Studio XPS 9000 was my favourite Dell desk top. People would complain that the tri-channel X-58 platform was troublesome but I loved it. Swapping out the graphics card with a 1050Ti and moving the OS to an SSD put life back into that beast and my daughter used it until she left for university. I'm using a similar model (the Dell Studio 9001) in my bed room for watching YouTube documentaries and listening to audio books. (Can't sleep without a bed time story.)

I still don't share the view that Win 11 is a great OS. I'm of the opinion that if I have to resort to so much surgery in order to make an operating system work on a 5 year old PC it isn't worth the trouble. I don't use bit locker, Co-Pilot, One Drive, or TPM and all these things really should be optional features, instead of mandatory requirements IMO. The fact that Rufus can remove these encumbrances to provide a stable and functional OS validates that these features could be simply offered in the Windows Store for those people who want them.

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

Scannerman said:
But they don't like it! So installing it was just one of those "let's see if I can" sort of things. I didn't get any BSODs but I didn't use it extensively either as these installations were not made on my PC. I just told my girls they might need it for backup. TBH installing it on the X58 platform was easier than installing 23H2 on my work station which was only 5 years old before Windows 11 was released. That old Dell Studio XPS 9000 was my favourite Dell desk top. People would complain that the tri-channel X-58 platform was troublesome but I loved it. Swapping out the graphics card with a 1050Ti and moving the OS to an SSD put life back into that beast and my daughter used it until she left for university. I'm using a similar model (the Dell Studio 9001) in my bed room for watching YouTube documentaries and listening to audio books. (Can't sleep without a bed time story.)

I still don't share the view that Win 11 is a great OS. I'm of the opinion that if I have to resort to so much surgery in order to make an operating system work on a 5 year old PC it isn't worth the trouble. I don't use bit locker, Co-Pilot, One Drive, or TPM and all these things really should be optional features, instead of mandatory requirements IMO. The fact that Rufus can remove these encumbrances to provide a stable and functional OS validates that these features could be simply offered in the Windows Store for those people who want them.

I DO AGREE that co-pilot, One Drive, Microsoft Account, etc. should be optional and thus, I've removed those from all of my installs, and also using O&O ShutUp 10++ to prevent and turn off unwanted aspects. I also use Anti-Beacon by Safer Networking and modified hosts file. That said, I'm an optimist glass half full guy, and have found Windows 11 (albeit with said TWEAKS), quite reliable, stable, better than 10 and comfortable with decent performance and reliability much like my old favorite Windows 7.

Thanks for sharing your info. It's appreciated and I hope it helps others and helps create hope and ideas.

PCUser · Nov 7, 2025

I appreciate all on this thread who have contributed and shared their PC stats and experiences.

To others, or anyone just joining in, feel free to keep sharing! Information and knowledge shared is powerful and helpful.

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