Windows 11 24H2 system requirements explained

Windows 11 24H2 hardware requirements include a 1GHz 2-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of SSD, TPM 2.0, and Secure Boot. An NPU is also required for advanced AI features.
The hardware requirements for the Copilot+ PC include a Snapdragon X Elite CPU with NPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD.

UPDATED 9/16/2024: Windows 11 24H2 (2024 Update) has the same main hardware requirements as versions 23H2 and 23H2, meaning that if your computer is already running Windows 11 23H2 or an older release, it’s compatible with version 24H2.

However, this version introduces new requirements to support some of the new AI features. For example, a device will require an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), 16GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD for on-device AI functionalities and to consider the system a Copilot+ PC.

It’s important to note that these new requirements won’t prevent existing computers from upgrading to the 2024 Update. However, if you plan to upgrade a Windows 10 computer, the hardware has to meet the minimum requirements, including a 64-bit dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0, and Secure Boot.

This guide will go through the new system requirements for installing Windows 11 and the steps to check whether your computer will run the new version of the operating system.

Windows 11 24H2 system requirements
Copilot+ PC system requirements
Windows 11 24H2 supported processors
Windows 11 24H2 features requirements

Windows 11 24H2 system requirements

If you want to install Windows 11 24H2, your computer should meet the basic system requirements:

Processor: 1GHz (64-bit) or faster CPU or System on a Chip (SoC) with two or more cores.
RAM: 4GB.
Hard drive: 64GB or larger.
System firmware: UEFI and Secure Boot capable.
TPM: Trusted Platform Module version 2.0.
Graphics: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver.
Display resolution: HD 720p display greater than 9 inches diagonally (8 bits per color channel).
Networking: Internet and Microsoft account.

Copilot+ PC system requirements

These are the minimum hardware requirements to be considered a Copilot+ PC:

Processor: Snapdragon X Elite
NPU: 40+ TOPS.
RAM: 16GB (or more).
Hard drive: 256GB (or larger).
System firmware: UEFI and Secure Boot capable.
TPM: Trusted Platform Module version 2.0.
Graphics: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver.
Display resolution: HD 720p display greater than 9 inches diagonally (8 bits per color channel).
Networking: Internet and Microsoft account.

These system requirements are necessary to access the new AI feature on Windows 11 24H2, which includes Windows Recall, Windows Studio Effects, Live Captions, Super Resolution, Voice Clarity, Cocreator for the Paint app, and Restyle Image for the Photos app.

Some of these new Copilot+ PCs include the Surface Pro (11th Edition), Surface Laptop (7th Edition), Acer Swift 14 AI, HP Omnibook X, HP EliteBook Ultra G1q, Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge series, ASUS Vivobook S 15, and Dell laptops like the XPS 13, Inspiron 14, Inspiron 14 Plus, Latitude 5455 and Latitude 7455.

Windows 11 24H2 supported processors

Windows 11 24H2 only runs on some processors, including Intel Core 8th Gen and higher processors and some Pentium, Atom, Celeron, and Xeon CPUs. On the AMD side, the operating system only supports the second-generation Ryzen (including Threadripper) and newer processors, alongside some EPYC and Athlon CPUs. As for ARM support, the latest version of Windows will support Qualcomm Snapdragon 850, 7c, 8c, and 8cx first and second generations, Snapdragon X Elite (and Plus), and the Microsoft SQ1 and SQ2.

Furthermore, the 7th Gen Intel processors are also supported, but only the 7820HQ chip. In addition, Intel’s Core X and Xeon W processors are supported, but only if the device comes with Declarative, Componentized Hardware Support Apps (DCH) drivers.

On unsupported devices, you may still be able to upgrade (at your own risk) from the ISO file or USB bootable media. However, the computer will still need a 64-bit processor with the “POPCNT” instruction, at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and an enabled TPM 1.2 chip and Secure Boot.

It’s important to the “POPCNT” (Population Count) instruction requirement because the computer won’t boot properly if this feature is missing at the time of the version 24H2 upgrade. Although most devices with unsupported hardware will continue to be able to upgrade and use the operating system, the new hardware requirement will affect processors released before 2007 as they don’t include the “POPCNT” instruction.

In addition, the CPU needs to support SSE4.2 (Intel) or SSE4A (AMD). These instruction sets are designed for x86 processors, specifically to enhance their multimedia processing capabilities. They are part of the Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) family, which provides instructions for performing operations on multiple data elements simultaneously.

The CPU requirements for Windows 11 24H2 include:

64-bit processor with two or more cores.
1 GHz or faster.
Intel, AMD, or ARM.
SSE4.2 instruction set support.
“POPCNT” (Population Count) instruction.

It’s important to note that POPCNT is an instruction part of SSE4.2. Originally, the POPCNT was the only requirement to boot the system, but now, the processor must include all the instructions from SSE4.2 to support version 24H2.

The SSE4.2 set of instructions has been around for many years, meaning that requirement should not affect devices already running an older version of Windows 11 or Windows 10 (in most cases). This is likely only to affect a very small set of users trying to install the operating system on an (extremely) old system.

You can always confirm if the processor includes the required set of instructions using the CPU-Z app and check the “Instructions” section in the “CPU” tab.

Here’s the list of the supported processors from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm.

Intel supported processors

8th Gen (Coffee Lake).
9th Gen (Coffee Lake Refresh).
10th Gen (Comet Lake and Ice Lake).
11th Gen (Rocket Lake and Tiger Lake).
12th Gen (Alder Lake).
13th Gen (Raptor Lake).
14th Gen (Raptor Lake).
Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake).
Pentium – Gold and Silver.
Xeon – Skylake-SP, Cascade Lake-SP, Cooper Lake-SP, Ice Lake-SP
All supported Intel processors.

AMD supported processors

Ryzen 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 (including 3D V-cache chips).
Ryzen Threadripper Pro 59xxWX.
Ryzen Embedded V25xx and V27xx.
EPYC 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen.
Athlon – Gold, Silver, 3xxx, 300x.
All supported AMD processors.

Qualcomm supported processors

Snapdragon X Elite.
Snapdragon X Plus.
Snapdragon 850.
Snapdragon 7c.
Snapdragon 8c.
Snapdragon 8cx.
Snapdragon 8cx (Gen2).
Microsoft SQ1.
Microsoft SQ2.
All supported Qualcomm processors.

Windows 11 24H2 features requirements

Here are the hardware requirements to support specific features:

Recall: requires NPU.
Studio Effects: requires NPU.
Live Captions: requires NPU.
Automatic Super Resolution: requires NPU.
Voice Clarity: requires NPU.
Cocreator for Paint: requires NPU.
Restyle Image for Photos: requires NPU.
5G support: requires a 5G capable modem.
Auto HDR: requires an HDR monitor.
BitLocker to Go: requires a USB flash drive.
Client Hyper-V: requires a processor with second-level address translation (SLAT) capabilities (available in Windows Pro and above editions).
DirectStorage: requires 1 TB or greater NVMe SSD to store and run games that use the “Standard NVM Express Controller” driver and a DirectX 12 Ultimate GPU.
DirectX 12 Ultimate: available with supported games and graphics chips.
Presence requires a sensor that can detect human distance from the device or intent to interact with the device.
Intelligent Video Conferencing: This feature requires a video camera, microphone, and speaker (audio output).
Multiple Voice Assistant (MVA): requires a microphone and speaker.
Snap three-column layouts: require a screen that is 1920 effective pixels or greater in width.
Mute/Unmute from Taskbar: requires a video camera, microphone, and speaker (audio output). The app must be compatible with features to enable global mute/unmute.
Spatial Sound: requires supporting hardware and software.
Touch: requires a screen or monitor that supports multi-touch.
Two-factor authentication requires using a PIN, biometric (fingerprint reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
Voice Typing: requires a microphone.
Wake on Voice: requires a Modern Standby power model and microphone.
Wi-Fi 6E: requires new WLAN IHV hardware and driver and a Wi-Fi 6E capable access point or router.
Wi-Fi 7: requires a Wi-Fi 7 compatible adapter and access point or router.
Windows Hello: requires a camera configured for near-infrared (IR) imaging or a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a PIN or a portable Microsoft-compatible security key.
Windows Projection: requires a display adapter that supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.0 and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.

The information in the article is based on existing requirements to install the current version of the operating system and the new requirements to consider a computer a “Copilot+ PC.” In addition, I’m including the details about the possible changes in the processor instructions and Windows Recall requirements.

Update September 16, 2024: This page has been updated to ensure accuracy and include the latest information.