Tech

what level is recommended and where is the limit

With the launch of Windows 11 it was confirmed a significant increase in minimum requirements compared to Windows 10, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Not only do we need more RAM and twice as many CPU cores, but this operating system is only compatible with certain processors and requires, yes or yes, a DirectX 12-compatible GPU.

The truth is that Windows 10 is an operating system very affordable at minimum requirements level, and this makes it work very well even on PCs and laptops that slightly exceed those requirements. The same is not the case with Windows 11, and in fact we must be careful, because at first glance its requirements they can make it look more affordable than it actually is.

Windows 11

I know that this issue still generates many doubts, in fact in recent months I have come across cases of people I know who have told me that they are not happy with having upgraded to Windows 11 because performance has not met your expectationsso what They believed that their team was going to be “excess” with that operating system.

These cases are becoming more frequent because Microsoft has accelerated the deployment of the free Windows 11 update, and this is causing more users to receive the controversial notice that their PC is ready to jump to said operating system. Controversial not only because of how intrusive it isbut also because in reality, many of the PCs that display such a notice they’re not going to be able to deliver a really good experience.

Why does Windows 11 consume more resources than Windows 10?

This operating system consumes more RAM memory than Windows 10 because includes new features and functions, and these must be stored in RAM for the operating system to function properly. I could give you many examples, but one of the most interesting and highly valued is the Widgets tab, which is constantly updated in the background.

It is impossible to deny that Windows 11 consumes more resources than Windows 10, but it also manages them intelligently, as it adapts to the characteristics of each team. Thus, for example, if we have a PC limited to 4 GB of RAM, the operating system will try to reduce the amount of memory consumed by certain applications, in this way we will have a small margin to run other applications.

Can reduce RAM consumption of Windows 11 performing certain actions, such as reducing the number of programs that load at startup, closing background processes and disabling functions and features that we are not going to need. All this can help us improve the performance of Windows 11 without spending money, but you should keep in mind that, in the end, if we only have 4 GB of RAM, we cannot expect any miracle.

Should I upgrade to Windows 11?

That is the eternal question that many PC users have been asking themselves for years, and I don’t want you to end up making the wrong decision. That is why I have decided to make this guide in which I am going to share with you an in-depth look at Windows 11 through the hardware.

I’m not going to limit myself based on your minimum requirements, but rather I will introduce a more complete, interesting and reliable review based on my own experience of using it after testing it in different configurations, including from a laptop with a Core i7-11370H (four cores and eight threads) with 16 GB of RAM to a powerful PC with a Core i9-13900K (24 cores and 32 threads) and 32 GB of RAM.

Keep in mind that, beyond the hardware issue, Windows 11 also introduces important changes at the design and user interface leveland that obviously this is a question that influences when deciding whether or not to upgrade to said operating system.

You already know my opinion on this subject, since I have expressed it on previous occasions, and the truth is that I prefer the Windows 10 interfaceI feel more comfortable and more productive with it, but in the end this is a somewhat subjective issue, and maybe you do like the Windows 11 interface better.

Is it possible to use Windows 11 with the minimum requirements?

The answer is a resounding no. Windows 11 will work on a PC with 4 GB of RAM that meets the minimum requirements, but the performance will not be good at all and the user experience will be very limited, because from the moment we start the computer we will see that we already have almost all the RAM memory occupied.

On average, when we get to the desk we will see that they are already occupied between 3.4 GB and 3.8 GB of RAM memorywhich means that we will hardly have room for maneuver to run applications as basic as the web browser or office programs, and that we will suffer jerks, stops and very pronounced loading times.

It goes without saying that with 4 GB of RAM we can forget about multitasking, and that even if we have a processor that far exceeds the minimum requirements, the equipment will be heavily hampered by the lack of RAM. If you have a PC with this configuration, the best thing you can do is forget about windows 11 and continue with Windows 10.

Where is the limit that you should not go below to install Windows 11?

It is very easy to set this limit. In a strict sense, the limit that we should never fall below if we want to upgrade to Windows 11 and enjoy an acceptable experience It would be fixed on a PC that meets the following components:

  • Intel Core i3-8100 (Coffee Lake) or Ryzen 3 2300X (Zen+) processor, both with four cores and four threads.
  • 8 GB of dual channel DDR4 RAM.
  • SSD storage unit of at least 128 GB.
  • DirectX 12 compatible GPU.

A team with these characteristics would far exceed the minimum requirements of Windows 11, which are set at a dual-core CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage capacity. With that configuration we would have a lot of room and the experience would be acceptable, both in multitasking and running applications that require a considerable amount of memory to function smoothly.

The CPU will also offer good performance in basic tasks and in applications that are not too demanding. SSD will greatly reduce startup and shutdown times, and it will be key for us to have greater fluidity when opening folders, files and documents, and also when running applications. Those 128 GB of capacity will give us an acceptable margin so as not to run out of space almost instantly.

Windows 11 can work acceptably on a PC with 8 GB of RAMIn fact, this is the limit that we should never go below, but it is important to be clear that the experience with this configuration will not be optimal, and that a computer with 8 GB of RAM will work much better with Windows 10.

What would be the minimum recommended configuration for an optimal experience with Windows 11?

Windows 11 optimal hardware

We have already seen the minimum level, which is set by the official Microsoft requirements, and we know that with this we will not be able to enjoy a minimally acceptable experience with Windows 11. We also know that to reach that minimum we will have to have, at least, a compatible quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM and a 128 GB SSD.

Having all this clear, it is very easy to guess where the recommended minimum configuration will move to enjoy an optimal experience with Windows 11. It is evident that this could change depending on the use that we are going to give to the equipment, but in this guide we are going to start of an average user profile, that is to say, for those who want to multitask smoothly, enjoy their multimedia content and use relatively demanding applications without problems.

  • Intel Core i3-10100 (Comet Lake-S) or Ryzen 3 3300X (Zen 2) processor with four cores and eight threads.
  • 16GB of DDR4 RAM.
  • SSD storage unit of at least 256 GB.
  • DirectX 12 compatible GPU.

As you can see, we have made a significant leap in RAM, since we have doubled the amount. I know you’re wondering why it is so important to have 16 GB of RAM to move Windows 11 smoothly, and the answer is very simple, because The operating system alone can already consume about 4 GB of RAM.

If to those 4 GB of RAM we add the average consumption of other basic applications and tools that we will install, in the end It is not uncommon to find situations in which the average consumption of RAM reaches 8 GB of RAM. Having 16 GB gives us a very comfortable margin to work with multitasking and to run demanding applications, and this is reinforced by the good performance that the Intel Core i3-10100 and Ryzen 3 3300X still offer.

RAM memory consumption it can also fluctuate a lot depending on what we dothe browser that we use and the number of tabs and processes that we have open, as well as the background applications that are consuming resources, but that are necessary for our day to day.

If we have, for example, multiple open google chrome browser tabsan instance of Microsoft Word, specific security applications protecting the PC in the background and other tasks that are carried out in parallel we could easily exceed 10 GB of RAM memory consumedwhich means that we could no longer enjoy a good experience with a PC that only has 8 GB of RAM.

Finally we must talk about the SSD unit. This will provide us with the advantages that we have already mentioned, and having 256 GB of capacity It will give us a lot of room to install numerous applications, documents, files and photos. It is true that this capacity may fall short for some users, but when we talk about a medium profile, and we leave the games out of the equation, a unit of this caliber is already beginning to comply without problems.

How can I be sure that Windows 11 will work on my PC?

Upgrade to Windows 11

In general, if your computer meets the configuration that we have seen in the minimum limit, the experience will already be acceptable and you could consider upgrading to said operating system. If it falls below it would not be advisable to updateespecially if you only have 4 GB of RAM, since in the end the operating system will be very limited and the memory will always be full.

For example, a PC with a Core i3-8100 and 4 GB of RAM would have trouble moving Windows 11, although you could solve it by expanding the RAM to 8 GB or 16 GB. This last level would be ideal, as we have seen in the previous section, and taking into account how cheap RAM is right now, it is something that we could consider without problem.

I do not want to finish without reminding you of something important, and that is that although the first generation Core Gen7 and Ryzen processors they have enough power to move Windows 11 smoothly are not officially supported, so if you decide to force the installation of said operating system on a computer configured with these components you could end up having support problems in the medium or long term.

If for whatever reason you have decided to take a risk and have upgraded to Windows 11 following Microsoft’s free upgrade offer, but in the end you have realized that it does not perform as expected because your PC is not up to the task, do not worry, you can always Go back to Windows 10 by following the steps that we tell you in this article.

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