Windows 10 or Windows 11?

SomeC · 2026-09-04T14:32:34-0400

I recently got a laptop for my studies that came preinstalled with Windows 11.

I am thinking about "downgrading" from Windows 11 to Windows 10 because of the optimization Windows 10 offers. Currently, Windows 11 uses almost 5 GB of RAM even while idling, and new features like Copilot, Microsoft 365, and the built-in AI tools don't really serve a purpose for me. On top of that, Windows 10 has a more minimalistic look, which I prefer.

What is your opinion on doing this, especially considering that Windows 10 support (even the extended support) is coming to an end soon?

XxXxX · 2026-09-04T14:35:55-0400

SomeC said:
I recently got a laptop for my studies that came preinstalled with Windows 11.

I am thinking about "downgrading" from Windows 11 to Windows 10 because of the optimization Windows 10 offers. Currently, Windows 11 uses almost 5 GB of RAM even while idling, and new features like Copilot, Microsoft 365, and the built-in AI tools don't really serve a purpose for me. On top of that, Windows 10 has a more minimalistic look, which I prefer.

What is your opinion on doing this, especially considering that Windows 10 support (even the extended support) is coming to an end soon?

if you are using the laptop online for your studies then Windows 11 would be the better and safer option.
best of luck Steve ..

pepanee · 2026-09-04T14:37:46-0400

I am using Windows 10.
Extended Support Updates have been changed to until October 12, 2027, which is a little over a year from this post's date.
I am going to be using Windows 10 until that date.
I think Windows 11 is still in its "bug phase" where people see bugs, whereas Windows 10 has been out for such a long time, and has pretty much all bugs fixed.

SomeC · 2026-09-04T14:38:01-0400

XxXxX said:
if you are using the laptop online for your studies then Windows 11 would be the better and safer option.
best of luck Steve ..

Well, I will be doing some coding on it. Why is it safer than Windwos 10 though?

SomeC · 2026-09-04T14:39:28-0400

pepanee said:
I am using Windows 10.
Extended Support Updates have been changed to until October 12, 2027, which is a little over a year from this post's date.
I am going to be using Windows 10 until that date.
I think Windows 11 is still in its "bug phase" where people see bugs, whereas Windows 10 has been out for such a long time, and has pretty much all bugs fixed.

Yeah, that's exactly the same reason I have been baffling with this dilemma. Is it worth it "upgrading " then ?

pepanee · 2026-09-04T14:41:14-0400

SomeC said:
Yeah, that's exactly the same reason I have been baffling with this dilemma. Is it worth it "upgrading " then ?

Assume you use Windows 10 until October 2027, then upgrading to Windows 11 should be hassle free and simple. That's my approach in the future regarding the Windows operating system.

OAT · 2026-09-04T14:59:41-0400

SomeC said:
I recently got a laptop for my studies that came preinstalled with Windows 11.

I am thinking about "downgrading" from Windows 11 to Windows 10 because of the optimization Windows 10 offers. Currently, Windows 11 uses almost 5 GB of RAM even while idling, and new features like Copilot, Microsoft 365, and the built-in AI tools don't really serve a purpose for me. On top of that, Windows 10 has a more minimalistic look, which I prefer.

What is your opinion on doing this, especially considering that Windows 10 support (even the extended support) is coming to an end soon?

In a year's time, it is doubtful that the optimization you seek will be any different unless you add more RAM on your system.
So you will have to upgrade anyway, you are better off getting acquainted with Windows 11, this is something you'll have to do eventually.
The Win 11 GUI is different but it works well once you give it a chance.
See what you can uninstall or disable on your 11 system first, give it a try for a few weeks and THEN downgrade if that does not work for you.
What code will you be working on?

bobkn · 2026-09-04T15:43:47-0400

Does Lenovo support Windows 10 on the laptop? (You don't list a model number.)

You may be able to install 10 regardless, but I'm not sure it'd be worth the effort. It might make sense to stay on 10 if the laptop came with it pre-installed, but as it came with 11...

If you search on Extended Support, you may find that to get it for free, you may have to sign up for something. MS won't take your soul, but it may be slightly annoying.

I assume that you can uninstall the Copilot app, and MS 365, without hackery. But I've never had MS 365 installed, so I can't speak from personal experience. The Edge browser may be more problematic, but it'd be present in 10 as well.

I have the standalone Copilot app installed, but set to not load on startup. I have also removed/disabled OneDrive. I don't do Cloud, so far.

Helmut · 2026-09-04T16:58:25-0400

You have zero reasons for downgrading to Windows 10. It is that simple.
You use Applications, not Windows.

You mention things you won't be using as reasons, I don't use them either amongst other things, they are just configured and side lined, fini.

Lenovo won't support Windows 10 on your Laptop, they only support what is supplied. My Lenovo laptop is about 3-4 years old.

As for minimalist look then Windows 11 is much better than Windows 10, particularly with the higher dpi of modern Laptop display panels and the Start Menu improvements.
Eventually you will have to get used to Windows 11, sooner you start the better.

glasskuter · 2026-09-04T17:01:27-0400

Make yourself familiar with the tutorial section of the forum. It is searchable.
Stay with 11, then use the tweaks you will find there to make 11 how you like it. I have 32 registry tweaks I apply to every computer I set up. I found them all in the tutorial section.
If you can't find how to do something, just ask and we can direct you.
I also strongly suggest you keep record of the tweaks you make.

I strongly suggest you make a system image to external media before you start and occassionally during your tweaking journey so you can get back to a point everything is OK if something goes wrong. Most everyone here makes regular system images.

Haselo Backup Suite is free and an excellent imaging app. Just make sure you create Haselo bootable usb that is used to recover an image.

Best Free Backup Software for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista in 2026 - Hasleo Backup Suite

Hasleo Backup Suite Free is the best free Windows backup software in 2026. As an all-in-one solution, it supports Windows 11/10/8/7 and helps you back up and restore Windows OS, disks, partitions and files easily.

www.easyuefi.com

I also suggest you open task manager. Select startup apps and disable any app you do not want auto-starting with Windows. (right click on app and disable)

Regarding 16gb of ram, for most folks for email and browsing 16gb is enough, but if one uses certain demanding apps like audio/video/photo editing apps or you require many apps open at once, you would need more ram.
IMO in this day and time, 16gb is the minimum one should have.

pparks1 · 2026-09-04T21:44:37-0400

Windows 11 has been around since Oct of 2021. On any new computer, I would highly recommend not going back to Windows 10.

Find a tool like Winhance (my favorite and free) to get rid of some of the things you don't want. For example, Edge, OneDrive, Recall, CoPilot, etc.

SomeC · 2026-09-05T02:27:25-0400

OAT said:
In a year's time, it is doubtful that the optimization you seek will be any different unless you add more RAM on your system.
So you will have to upgrade anyway, you are better off getting acquainted with Windows 11, this is something you'll have to do eventually.
The Win 11 GUI is different but it works well once you give it a chance.
See what you can uninstall or disable on your 11 system first, give it a try for a few weeks and THEN downgrade if that does not work for you.
What code will you be working on?

Ok I will take that into consideration. I will be working on some python code

SomeC · 2026-09-05T02:32:19-0400

glasskuter said:
Make yourself familiar with the tutorial section of the forum. It is searchable.
Stay with 11, then use the tweaks you will find there to make 11 how you like it. I have 32 registry tweaks I apply to every computer I set up. I found them all in the tutorial section.
If you can't find how to do something, just ask and we can direct you.
I also strongly suggest you keep record of the tweaks you make.

I strongly suggest you make a system image to external media before you start and occassionally during your tweaking journey so you can get back to a point everything is OK if something goes wrong. Most everyone here makes regular system images.

Haselo Backup Suite is free and an excellent imaging app. Just make sure you create Haselo bootable usb that is used to recover an image.

Best Free Backup Software for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista in 2026 - Hasleo Backup Suite

Hasleo Backup Suite Free is the best free Windows backup software in 2026. As an all-in-one solution, it supports Windows 11/10/8/7 and helps you back up and restore Windows OS, disks, partitions and files easily.

www.easyuefi.com

I also suggest you open task manager. Select startup apps and disable any app you do not want auto-starting with Windows. (right click on app and disable)

Regarding 16gb of ram, for most folks for email and browsing 16gb is enough, but if one uses certain demanding apps like audio/video/photo editing apps or you require many apps open at once, you would need more ram.
IMO in this day and time, 16gb is the minimum one should have.

I have already been familiar with those tweaks like christitus commands and other debloaters. My suspicion with these is that they can mess with the Windows Registry, thus corrupting crytical values and system files along the way. Hence there's a chance that you won't recieve critical updates from Mivrosoft in the future

SlicEnDicE · 2026-09-05T04:38:04-0400

Stick with Win11. No point in going to 10. I say this for the same reasons already mentioned above. Also, Windows using 5GB idling does not say much about anything really. Low memory will start to matter when you get out of RAM warnings. Windows is decent at allocating RAM where it is needed.

What comes to programming, especially when it comes to Python. You'll have a better time under Linux. There everything simply just works and works more efficiently.

So if you want to replace Win11 with anything else, that would be the correct direction.

Your Laptop should be 100% compatible with Linux, so there is no issues there, except maybe your WiFi card. There may be other quirks too though.

I don't recommend you wipe your system and jump over there though. First you have to test it out in a VM or by booting up from an USB to see if you even like it and can work with it.

Anyways, with your hardware specs, you should be fine staying on Windows 11 for the purposes and usages you described.

Windows 10 or Windows 11?

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