In a relatively short space of time – certainly in the world of operating systems – we’ve gone from needing 2GB of RAM for Windows 10 in 2015 (indeed, 1GB for a 32-bit installation originally), doubling up to 4GB for Windows 11 in 2021, and then potentially just three years after that, doubling again to 8GB? That feels like a steep rise when all other specs are remaining the same.
Let’s face it, the majority of folks still haven’t made the jump to Windows 11 yet, and the next iteration of the OS is on the horizon already (maybe). If Microsoft really is mulling a move to 8GB minimum, and perhaps soon – with Windows 12 rumored to be set to arrive next year – this could cause some bad feeling in terms of forced upgrades (or maybe devices locked out totally, in the case of laptops), pretty soon after the launch of Windows 11. There’s also the small matter of laptops, too – some of them can’t have their RAM upgraded, as it’s soldered on. And remember, it’s more complicated on some PCs, such as in cases where the CPU fan overhangs the RAM slots, thereby requiring the cooler to be removed to perform the upgrade, so the process then becomes a somewhat fiddlier affair.
It’s one of the easier upgrades to carry out on a PC for sure, but it’s still something that might intimidate the less tech-savvy. But plenty of users out there won’t be happy about being frozen out of Windows 12 if it does raise the minimum RAM bar to 8GB.īut RAM is easily upgraded, you say? Well, yes, true enough. It's true that for multi-tasking apps and more demanding work, ideally, you want 8GB of system memory these days anyway – heck, lots of Chrome browser tabs can be pretty demanding still (although Google has taken action on that front). Well, maybe not motoring, but certainly plodding along happily enough accomplishing basic tasks like emailing and web browsing without breaking a sweat. The trouble with this is that there are still a lot of folks out there motoring along with Windows 11 and 4GB of RAM, the current minimum spec.
The RAM is the fly in the spec ointment, though, with that potential ask of 8GB. Windows 11 already set a pretty high bar here, and to raise it further definitely wouldn’t be well received. Similarly, it’s no shocker that the CPU requirements would stay the same. It’s not a big surprise that TPM 2.0 would remain in place and security demands won’t be beefed up, but it’s good to hear this nonetheless (even if it’s just rumored – all of this info should be treated with some caution, as we’ve already touched upon). (Image credit: Tobias Dahlberg from Pixabay )Īnalysis: But RAM, it’s an easy upgrade anyway, right? Well…
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