Windows 11 Pro requires a 64-bit CPU (8th-gen Intel or Ryzen 3000+), 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. The TPM 2.0 requirement is what blocks most older PCs — check compatibility with Microsoft's PC Health Check tool before buying a key.
Official minimum requirements
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Processor | 1 GHz+, 2+ cores, 64-bit (8th-gen Intel / Ryzen 3000+) |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 64 GB minimum |
| TPM | TPM 2.0 (required) |
| Secure Boot | UEFI with Secure Boot capability |
| Graphics | DirectX 12 compatible with WDDM 2.0 |
| Display | 720p+, 9"+ diagonal |
How to check if your PC qualifies
- Download Microsoft's free PC Health Check app and run it — it tells you instantly if your hardware is compatible.
- Or check manually: press Win+R, type
tpm.mscto see if TPM 2.0 is present and enabled. - Check your CPU generation: 8th-gen Intel Core (2017+) or AMD Ryzen 3000-series (2019+) or newer.
Why TPM 2.0 matters
TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a security chip that handles encryption keys and secure boot. Microsoft made it mandatory to raise Windows 11's security baseline — BitLocker, Windows Hello and credential protection all rely on it. Many PCs from 2016+ have TPM 2.0 but disabled in BIOS; enabling it (often labeled PTT on Intel or fTPM on AMD) can make an "incompatible" PC compatible.
If your PC doesn't qualify
You have three realistic options: enable TPM in BIOS if it's present but off, replace the device, or run Windows 10 (now unsupported as of October 2025, so not recommended long-term). For a new machine, a genuine Windows 11 Pro key from DigitalTools activates it instantly.
