Windows 11: Microsoft's Director of OS Security explains the tough CPU requirements for Win 11

[Redaktion]

Microsoft has provided more background on the rationale behind its decisions regarding chip support for Windows 11. In an interview with TechRepublic, Microsoft's Director of OS Security, David Weston, has pointed to compromises between security, performance and battery life as the drivers of the choices it has made.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Windows-11-Microsoft-s-Director-of-OS-Security-explains-the-tough-CPU-requirements-for-Win-11.548765.0.html

[Martin82]

LOL, "security"...with mandatory cameras.

[Dice]

Uuh... How about they let users decide what "the best compromise" is for them?
Performance will be lowered because of the "awesome" new security chip, so they don't want it to run on older machines where it will be noticeable? Battery life will be lowered too? I thought the chip is only used rarely to do cryptography or something? How does that eat noticeable amounts of battery?

[Ostroschenko P.]

Microsoft chief-of-anything be like, "LOL, I don't even use this crap... I work on a Mac!"
Seriously, though. Their whole Windows design team is 5 dudes and 2 chicks working on iMac's, watch the 2018 "acrylic" promo they did.
(The rest are goblins they hire from overseas)

[Erik]

This is still weird, as far as I know both Zen and Zen+ don't support  Mode Based Execution Control (MBEC), which is used by the Hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI), yet the Zen+ made it to the list, while the original Zen has been omitted. (Both are still compatible with HVCI, but they use emeulation for the missing feature and get a bigger performance impact).

[Muntu]

UBUNTU WITH LIBRE OFFICE!

[Arceles]

Love how they think they are the best doing stuff, so arrogant. Windows 11 is crap, forced TPM, forced obsolescence, forced encription of non critical data. What a mess.

[menotu]

Thanks for the BS.. I will finally switch to Linux.. Phucque Microsoft

[Jim65579]

I have zero problem never upgrading to windows 11.  Me and my 7700k will be happy on windows 10 until I decide to upgrade the pc in a few years.

[robinspat]

IMHO:

Linux or M$ with LibreOffice suite... no longer is there a compelling commercial 'need to have...' Microsoft. 

This idiocy: intolerable Micro$oft denial of slightly older (i7 4790K for example) hardware policy, like the Apple and Compaq, old debate of architecture Open architecture versus Closed architecture will not pass...

It is a betrayal of users and potential upgrade customers. Obviously it will be moderated by reverse engineering force of course.

Always, it should be choice of users where to install, not dictat.

M$ will face such bad PR shitshow.  Home goal 'footie' parlance. 

So M$ ought allow with security caveats of 'user beware,' reduced promise and lower service guarentee etc.. but allow older CPUs and motherboards to install. 

Simply, or the determinded will circumvent denial by install routine of new OS, it will be hacked and overcome obviously 😉

[Joe]

LOL. I'm sure all of the years old security bugs are being addressed as we ponder the new requirements

[Erik P]

Linux is faster a far more secure as an OS. Speed testing on win10 originally showed comparable speeds, but now I can run Linux Mint off a pen drive faster than win10.

What stops uptake of linux is (i) many managers are computer illiterate and probably don't even know linux exists (ii) Excel

Libre office is rubbish compared to Excel. If we had a good virtualization of Excel, with useable macros/VBA microsoft would become obsolete as an operating system and would simply be what it should always have been, a software producer of MS office.

[Dr.Securtiy]

Major security overhaul! Best thing happened to Windows for the past 20 years.

[Phillip Hollier-Day]

Microsoft is lying to you. Most of the features they claim are limited or unsupported on older generation CPU's are in fact fully supported by as low as 6th generation CPUs. I challenge anyone from Microsoft to point out a 'feature' that is required by the hardware that isn't supported by 6th generation Intel CPUs which is mandatory for their OS to function with all its security intact.

This is about money. Microsoft make money on new computer sales since they often ship Windows with it. Let's not pretend otherwise.

[xpclient]

It is just total rubbish. Consumers don't need this kind of VIP-security. They will use this opportunity to enforce Secure Boot and with it also Modern Standby so you can't even enable S3 any more on notebooks that misbehave with Modern Standby. Notebookcheck should take a tougher stance against compulsory Secure Boot and Modern Standby.