Microsoft’s minimum hardware requirement for the Windows 11 operating system has made millions of PCs not upgradable to Windows 11. In addition to the secure boot and TPM 2.0 requirement, Windows 11 also needs a 64-bit processor.
Since Windows 11 is compatible with a relatively small number of processors, PC users have many queries concerning processor requirements.
Are Intel Core i3 processors compatible with Windows 11?
The short answer is yes. Windows 11 is compatible with Intel Core 3 processors. However, not all Core i3 processors support Windows 11.
Only 8th generation and later Core i3 processors support Windows 11. This means that Intel Core i3 processors of the 1st to 7th generation do not support Windows 11. You can refer to how to check your Intel processor generation guide to know if Windows 11 supports your Intel processor.
If your PC’s processor does not support Windows 11, you do not need to worry, as Windows 10 will continue to work on your PC without any issues. According to Microsoft, Windows 10 will get support until October 2025.
List of Intel Core i3 processors that support Windows 11
According to this page of Microsoft, Windows 11 supports a total of fifty Intel Core i3 processors. Here is the full list:
Intel® Core™ i3-8100
Intel® Core™ i3-8100B
Intel® Core™ i3-8100H
Intel® Core™ i3-8100T
Intel® Core™ i3-8109U
Intel® Core™ i3-8140U
Intel® Core™ i3-8300
Intel® Core™ i3-8300T
Intel® Core™ i3-8350K
Intel® Core™ i3-8130U
Intel® Core™ i3-8145U
Intel® Core™ i3-8145UE
Intel® Core™ i3-9100
Intel® Core™ i3-9100E
Intel® Core™ i3-9100F
Intel® Core™ i3-9100HL
Intel® Core™ i3-9100T
Intel® Core™ i3-9100TE
Intel® Core™ i3-9300
Intel® Core™ i3-9300T
Intel® Core™ i3-9320
Intel® Core™ i3-9350K
Intel® Core™ i3-9350KF
Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
Intel® Core™ i3-10110Y
Intel® Core™ i3-10100
Intel® Core™ i3-10100E
Intel® Core™ i3-10100F
Intel® Core™ i3-10100T
Intel® Core™ i3-10100TE
Intel® Core™ i3-10105
Intel® Core™ i3-10105F
Intel® Core™ i3-10105T
Intel® Core™ i3-10110U
Intel® Core™ i3-10300
Intel® Core™ i3-10300T
Intel® Core™ i3-10305
Intel® Core™ i3-10305T
Intel® Core™ i3-10320
Intel® Core™ i3-10325
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G1
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1005G1
Intel® Core™ i3-L13G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1110G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4E
Intel® Core™ i3-1115GRE
Intel® Core™ i3-1120G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1125G4
How to check the Intel processor number in Windows 10
Step 1: On your Windows 10 PC, navigate to Settings > System > About page.
Step 2: In the Device Specifications section, the Processor field displays the processor model number.
Is there a workaround to install Windows 11 on unsupported Intel Core i3 processors?
Yes, there are workarounds out there to install Windows 11 on unsupported processors, but when Windows 11 is installed on a PC with an unsupported processor, you might not get optical performance. Additionally, unsupported PCs might not get updates in the future. Therefore, we do not recommend installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
Hunter says
I’m suffering the same issue. My ASUS has an i3 5020u/BGA processor which is incompatible with WIN11. buying a new laptop is impossible right now with my financial situation. I won’t be able to afford one for a long time…
Vitali BLR says
processor i3-3110m – win 11 22h2 – works)))
16GB RAM, SSD 120GB Toshiba + 500GB HDD Toshiba instead of DVD-Drive))
Laptop Fujitsu Lifebook AH552/SL
Can’t find chipset driver HM76))), but my system works)))
Soloman-Wise says
There is a very easy work around for Windows 11 supposed requirements. If your PC is running Windows 10 just fine, it will probably do the same for Win 11. You can download the Win-11 iso image from Microsoft. The use Rufus 3.20 to write the image to a USB flash drive. When using Rufus, it should ask if you want to remove the Windows 11 requirements from the iso when it is written, say yes! Once Rufus finished the flash drive write, you can use the flash to boot your computer and install windows 11 and by-pass the system checks. Or when in Windows 10, you can plug in the flash and browse to it and select setup.exe and it will upgrade your Window 10 to 11. It is a FREE upgrade! There are many tutorial videos explaining how easy this is, just google using Rufus to bypass windows 11 requirements! Best of luck. I have used this process many times without fail!
Joe says
W11 installed just fine on my Optiplex 3040 with Core i3-6100,which is a 64 bit cpu.
I just had to enable TPM in the BIOS and activate “Secure Boot” in Windows 10 settings.
Smislov says
Linux is a mother! Free, almost never a problem, there are drivers all on the market, stable, you do not need antivirus that slows down your system, no one blackmails you with anything.
Steve E. says
I’m in that unsupported PCU category, running a 2014 vintage HP 500-267c desktop box, Intel Core i3 4130, 16GB RAM originally Windows 7 upgraded to Windows 10 & new SSD hard drive that doesn’t meet Windows 11 requirements. If there isn’t a Win 11 compatible motherboard/CPU out there that can fit in my 500-267c tower case I’ll just continue run Win 10 until 10/2025 when it’s no longer supported, then up yours to Microsoft, I’ll switch to Apple MAC. After all, one of the changes with Win 11 is supposedly this new “MAC-like OS interface”. In which case then if I have to learn a new OS all over again anyway why not just switch to the real thing, get a MAC and be done with Windows? I only stuck with Windows in the first place because that’s what I first learned on at work in the 1990s until I retired in 2010.
daz says
All of my computers are 4th gen i3 and i5 with 8-16gb of ram and SSD’s and work very well and very quick being 3.6ghz and have years of life left in them, and now your telling me that in 4 years time I am going to have to scrap it!!! it is an absolute joke If Microsoft do not sort this big problem out I will seriously hope Microsoft go bust they don’t own the world the people own the world so sort it you are not God!!!!!
Leo says
This is one of the reasons why Linux is a good option now.
Balki says
Simply windows will lose the customers, if they don’t accordingly for customers requirements, we don’t need to worry, windows need to worry, before releasing any update to the computer, and they need to satisfy all the generations, which is where they will get the appreciation.
admin says
Select i3 7th Gen processors are supported. Please use the Health Check app to check if your PC is compatible with Windows 11.
Manoj Kumar says
What about i3 7th gen with TPM Enabled laptops????
Stan says
Frustrating. None of my three computers are compatible. The newest is just over 1 year old.
I try to keep my computers up-to-date with updates, memories and drive capacity, so I can use them for a long time. That’s not the way this business works.
Paul Morin says
this is such bull,the warranty just ran out in late march of this year and it cant be updated to windows 11 .not buying another laptop.if you were able to take old windows 7 to windows 10,10-11 should be no problem….You need to fix this
Jay Long says
Only bought my dell laptop 18 months ago and now I am told its virtually obsolete.
Another kick in the teeth by Microsoft.
People spend a small fortune on a machine and are told the software will only be supported till 2025.
No wonder Android is so popular.