![Background of Intel CPU with text saying "Microsoft drops support for 44 Intel CPUs on Latest Windows 11"](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/feat-image-intel-cpu-drop.jpg?w=755&quality=75)
Microsoft has been upgrading Windows 11 every now and then with many major updates for the OS that have come out since its release back in 2021. Now, they are updating the system requirements for Windows 11. But why so? PCs get older and if they have obsolete, there will be problems while running the latest operating system. And to ensure a smooth run, these system requirements change. As a result, many Intel CPUs are no longer compatible with Windows 11. Check out the details below.
Intel CPUs That Don’t Support Windows 11 Anymore!
The time has come for Microsoft to update its system requirements for Windows 11 and they will be dropping support for several older-generation Intel CPUs. This mostly includes Intel’s 8th-Gen Xeon processors as reported by Neowin.net.
The list of these Intel Xeon Processors is below, so you can check it to see if your PC is affected by the system requirements change. Since other Intel 8th-Gen CPUs such as the i7-8700K, i5-8400, or laptop CPUs are still supported, this change shouldn’t impact most people.
- Intel Xeon E-2104G
- Intel Xeon E-2124
- Intel Xeon E-2124G
- Intel Xeon E-2126G
- Intel Xeon E-2134
- Intel Xeon E-2136
- Intel Xeon E-2144G
- Intel Xeon E-2146G
- Intel Xeon E-2174G
- Intel Xeon E-2176G
- Intel Xeon E-2176M
- Intel Xeon E-2186G
- Intel Xeon E-2186M
- Intel Xeon E-2224
- Intel Xeon E-2224G
- Intel Xeon E-2226G
- Intel Xeon E-2226GE
- Intel Xeon E-2234
- Intel Xeon E-2236
- Intel Xeon E-2244G
- Intel Xeon E-2246G
- Intel Xeon E-2254ME
- Intel Xeon E-2254ML
- Intel Xeon E-2274G
- Intel Xeon E-2276G
- Intel Xeon E-2276M
- Intel Xeon E-2276ME
- Intel Xeon E-2276ML
- Intel Xeon E-2278G
- Intel Xeon E-2278GE
- Intel Xeon E-2278GEL
- Intel Xeon E-2286G
- Intel Xeon E-2286M
- Intel Xeon E-2288G
- Intel Xeon E-2314
- Intel Xeon E-2324G
- Intel Xeon E-2334
- Intel Xeon E-2336
- Intel Xeon E-2356G
- Intel Xeon E-2374G
- Intel Xeon E-2378
- Intel Xeon E-2378G
- Intel Xeon E-2386G
- Intel Xeon E-2388G
These are all workstation-grade CPUs, mostly utilized in servers and professional environments. None of them are part of the CPU lineup Intel intended for normal consumers, so even if you have an older processor, chances are it will still work with Windows 11 just fine.
![windows 11 2022 update introduced](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/windows-11-2022-update.jpg?w=750&quality=75)
Apart from these Intel Xeon CPUs, a report by deskmodder.de states that its forum users are unable to use ‘bypass methods,’ which people use to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware such as Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs.
So, on the latest Windows 11 build, they have created additional safeguards against the workarounds used by people for installing Windows 11 on older systems. In the future, (maybe with Windows 12) they could also block completely block OS installation on older CPUs. By the way, you can read everything we know about the upcoming Windows 12 update here.
It appears that Microsoft now determines how long hardware is capable of using a Windows OS. What is truly bizarre is that Xeon CPU’s lose support but then you have Celeron’s and Pentiums still being supported. Just no logical reasoning behind what Microsoft is doing other than just being A holes about what hardware can run Windows now.
So I really dodged a bullet when I ignored Microsoft’s push to upgrade my win10 on a PC with older CPU? Completely locking out older hardware after allowing in the early builds is terrible.