The requirements for Windows 11 are divided into two groups, those for the standard operating system and those for the on-premises AI version. The latter are much higher, requiring an NPU, and also require more RAM and a fast storage unit with a minimum of higher capacity.
So that you can compare, these are the requirements of Windows 11:
- Dual-core CPU compatible (Core Gen8, Ryzen 2000, or higher).
- 4 GB of RAM.
- 64GB storage unit.
And the requirements for the on-premise AI version were as follows:
- Compatible SoC (including Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite).
- 16 GB of DDR5 or LPDDR5.
- SSD or UFS storage unit with 256 GB capacity.
The difference between the two is very large, and it is solely due to the integration of AI functions that run locally, i.e., Copilot+. This is what makes the requirements change so much between one version of Windows 11 and another.
New Windows 11 requirements with AI
As the requirements are so different and so strict in the AI version, Microsoft has updated the requirements page to indicate, in a much clearer way, what the minimum is that our team must meet:
- Compatible processor that has an NPU with more than 40 TOPs of power (trillions of operations per second), including the AMD Ryzen AI 300, Intel Core Ultra 200V, and Snapdragon X.
- 16 GB of DDR5 or LPDDR5.
- SSD or UFS storage unit with 256 GB capacity.
If a computer does not meet any of these requirements, it will not be able to use Windows 11 in its version with Copilot+, that is, with AI running locally.
Many of us wonder why Microsoft has decided to limit Copilot+ and all its features to a compatible NPU instead of also allowing users with much more powerful AI graphics cards to access those features with their GPU.
In laptops it makes all the sense in the world for a matter of efficiency, but on PCs they should be fully opened and allow the execution of AI in the specialized AI units that current graphics cards have, where TOPs are not measured in tens, but in hundreds or even thousands of TOPs. For example, the GeForce RTX 5090 reaches 3,352 TOPs, and the GeForce RTX 5060 reaches 614 TOPs without problems.
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