If your existing Windows 10 PC is running Windows 10 20H1 or later and meets the minimum hardware specificationsit will be able to upgrade to Windows 11. The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized, but for most devices already in use today, we expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022. Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade will be offered to upgrade at the same time.
To see if your PC is eligible to upgrade, refer to our knowledge base for a list of tested systems. Once the upgrade rollout has started, you can check if it is ready for your device by going to Settings/Windows Updates. Similar to how end users are notified when updates are available in Windows 10, end users will see an indication in the notification areas of the taskbar in the bottom right, that the upgrade is available.
More information on how that is presented will be available at a later date. Additional desktop notification options may be also be added at a later date. The second feature here is DirectStorage that promises to greatly enhance the gaming experience by cutting downloading times of games. This appears to be an extension of the attempts being made by Microsoft with the Xbox Series X/S consoles where it has used clever tricks to greatly improve load times of games. However, do note that this feature will only be available on select games that support DirectStorage API on a PC with an NVMe SSD and a GPU that supports DirectX12 Ultimate.
These are the core differences in Windows 11 Home vs Pro editions. As we've mentioned, most of them revolve around features meant for business users. Some are designed to protect especially sensitive information, while others have to do with quickly setting up devices for users and managing them remotely.
For the average person walking into a store, you're probably going to be just fine with Windows 11 Home. The odds are if you need Windows 11 Pro, you already know you need it and why. Windows 10 is the last generation of Windows which was launched on July 15, 2015, after the Windows 8.1 version. Windows 10 introduced a completely new browser by Microsoft called Microsoft Edge.
Windows 10 was mainly designed by also keeping in mind the multi-tasking features like in the Android Operating system and touch-based functionality. The users from Windows 7 or Windows 8 could easily update their devices to the latest Windows 10 for free via software updates. The Microsoft Windows 10 requires system configurations to run like a minimum of 2GB RAM and 32GB storage and processors of higher processing power than the Intel Core i Series 4th generation later. Even the newly-released AutoHDR feature is available on both Windows 11 Home and Pro editions. So it's safe to say that neither of the editions will disappoint you in terms of gaming performance.
That said, Windows 11 Pro offers you a larger ceiling for hardware expansion. It supports up to 2 CPU sockets, 128 cores, and up to 2TB of RAM, whereas Windows 11 Home supports 1 CPU socket, 64 cores, and up to 128GB of RAM. Simply put, Windows 11 Home is more than enough for most users, even for hardcore gamers. If your existing Windows 10 PC is running the most current version of Windows 10 and meets the minimum hardware specifications it will be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 will be offered to upgrade at the same time. However, with innovation, games have become much more complex than even an NVME could not cope up with the requirements of a modern game. The modern games of today need 10s of gigabytes of data to display those beautiful characters and environments.
The implementation of this new software in Windows would allow video games to utilize those incredible drive speeds and bring enhanced performance for its users. The short answer is yes, windows 11 is an excellent operating system for gamers, it provides lots of features and functionalities for the gamers. Some of the essential features that existed within this operating system are- Auto HDR, Direct Storage, running android apps, GUI creation, 64 bits system supports, etc. Apart from this, Windows 11 also offers what Microsoft calls the Desktops feature that gives the user the ability to set up and manage multiple iterations of your desktop.
It's a simple and easy feature to use, which when gotten used greatly improves ease of use. This can be accessed by going to this new icon that all Windows users of the past will instantly notice on their home screens. This Task View button sits alongside the Start button and looks like contrasting windows over one another.
Hover your pointer over it, and you'll see a small preview of all the desktops you have open, as well as the option to set up a new one. It also temporarily prevents Windows Update from installing drivers or asking to restart your PC to install updates in the middle of a game. Microsoft introduced the gaming feature as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update in 2017. Most noticeably, a new design is meant to help users more quickly get what they're looking for. Microsoft is changing the rules of its app store to bring more variety and even bring Android apps to the PC, and adding enhancements that promise to boost gaming. New touchscreen controls and a better way to configure windows on screen might make it easy to sit in front of the computer for long periods.
Do it all with the perfect balance of sleek design, speed, immersive audio and significantly longer battery life than before. Capture ideas and use your favorite Microsoft 365 applications on the vibrant PixelSense touchscreen display in 13.5-inch or 15-inch models. Choose between 11th Gen Intel Core processors or AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors with Radeon Graphics Microsoft Surface Edition.
Click the link above to learn more about Surface Laptop 4, including available color finishes and material options. The Acer Swift 5 (SF514-55) ultrathin-and-light notebook marries an uber-stylish design with the latest performance technology. The touchscreen display is covered with a layer of Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass, and you have the option to further include an antimicrobial solution on the touchpad, keyboard and all covers of the device.
Click the link above for more details on the Acer website. It's worth understanding how the game loading happens today without DirectStorage. But, because of compression issues, there's a blockage between the CPU and the graphics card or GPU. Remember, it's a legacy process that results in slower load times and lower frame rates. However, DirectStorage removes this need for CPU decompression. As familiar as Windows 11 might be, there's still a lot that's changed.
Your favorite multitasking functions get upgraded with new Snap Layouts, and virtual desktops are getting better with more flexibility and features. It's always important to ensure there's sufficient storage space on the C drive which is the system drive. Sometimes, after Windows 11 or Windows 10 update, the C drive is full and thus, you may encounter low frame rates when playing video games or even frequent system crashes. In this case, it's imperative to allocate more free space to it. For starters, by default, in the main Windows 11 settings under the Gaming tab, a new feature called Game Mode is active.
Windows 11's Settings menu hides little goodies like Game Mode, a toggle that allows Windows to turn off unnecessary tasks while playing a game—including Windows updates and restarts! This is also where the performance slider is hidden, by the way, to get more performance out of Windows 11. Microsoft has reorganized the Settings app, adding flourishes such as widgets to show paired devices, a prominent link to rename your PC, and a way to see which subfolder you're looking in. Plus, the left rail of options doesn't change as you move from section to section as it did before, making navigation easier.
The menu options have been moved around, with some sections getting new names. And a new option makes the operating system remember where windows were before when you reconnect an external monitor. Windows 11 has dedicated features for gaming like Direct Storage and Auto HDR for improving graphics quality. Windows 11 also has a completely new Xbox app designed for users to get access to the best games created by Microsoft. Xbox also allows users to stream their gaming on other social media platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Windows 11 is the latest version of the Operating System launched by Microsoft. It was launched on June 24, 2021, after the release of Windows 10 in 2015. Windows 11 can be installed by updating the compatible devices to the latest version of it comes pre-installed in the new computers nowadays. Windows 11 is a more seamless and integrated experience for the users as compared to Windows 10. Microsoft has taken inspiration from Android or the MacOS to make everything connected within one account only. Also, it requires TPM 2.0 for effective trusted platform modules.
As business users often deal with especially sensitive information, there are also some extra security features in Windows 11 Pro. This feature encrypts data stored on your hard drive so no one else can access it. Even if your computer is stolen, your files are protected from users other than yourself.
Another difference that will be noticeable for business users is that Windows 11 Home PCs can't be joined to Active Directory. Active Directory solutions are necessary for managing business devices, such as configuring access to certain resources, deploying apps, and so on. Those are all professional tools, so they don't make sense for most Windows 11 Home users. One of the biggest changes coming announced for Windows 11 this summer was the addition of Android app support. With Windows 11, Android would be able to run on the desktop, in a separate window that you could use with Snap Layouts and as well as with touch, keyboard and mouse – every way you interact with Windows.
And you would be able add apps to the taskbar and start menu, just like other programs, to make them part of your workflow from day-to-day. Microsoft said the new operating system will include performance improvements, including faster logins with Windows Hello, faster web browsing, and faster waking up from sleep. Windows Hello is a biometric-based technology that enables Windows 10 users to authenticate secure access to their devices, applications, and networks with iris scans, facial recognition, or fingerprints. However, Microsoft has said that DirectStorage, one of the new PC gaming features, will also be compatible with Windows 10. DirectStorage takes advantage of modern storage hardware in PCs from games to simplify the way the game is played.
Auto HDR will also be built into Windows 11, which should improve colors in many games. Although Windows 10 included the Task View feature and allowed users to create multiple virtual desktops, the options were limited. Windows 11 users will be able to set up virtual desktops just like they do with Macs.
Users can switch between multiple desktops at the same time for work, school, play, and personal use. Speaking of security, one of the options is to install a free antivirus program for Windows. Next to the Search icon is Task View, which hasn't changed much from Windows 10. Task View and theAlt + Tab functionality still overlap considerably. TheAlt + Tab functionality shows all of the windows that you have open, including the option to include the most recent 3 or 5 tabs within Edge. Microsoft introduced Task View in Windows 10 as a way to shift between arrangements of various windowed apps on laptops and other single-screen devices.
It's still an excellent tool for working on the road, but you might not find it as useful when your PC has access to multiple physical monitors. And before we get to test the performance of Windows 11, let's discuss the gaming-related features that Windows 11 brings with itself. So, under this category, there are two main features that will be of the most interest to users.
The former functions use machine learning to enhance lighting detail in visuals on screen, by replicating high dynamic range lighting in DirectX 11/12 games which do not offer support for it. This is an interesting feature and will come in handy for a lot of users who play older generation titles on their new Windows 11 machines. Windows 11 makes it easy to organize two or more application windows you want to use at the same time. This builds on the ability to snap windows on the left or right sides of the screen in Windows 10, as well as customizations to Android that showed up in the Surface Duo, Microsoft's two-screened smartphone.
Hover over the maximize button in an application, and you'll see options for arranging two, three or even four windows. You click on which part of the screen you want that current window to use, and then you choose other portions of the screen for the other windows. After you've organized your windows the way you like them, you can go to the taskbar and quickly access your set of windows. If you open other ones, you can get back to the set by hovering over the icons for the apps included in the set. You can also quickly close the set by hovering and hitting the X button. Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 reshape the PC for mobile-first consumers by bringing together next-generation connectivity, ultra-portable design and elevated performance.
With complete Samsung Galaxy ecosystem integration, the Galaxy Book Pro series is now the ultimate link between your devices, fully connecting your digital world. Built for marathon gaming sessions, these laptops feature HyperEfficient voltage regulation technology which is designed to allow the system to perform at the highest levels for hours of gameplay. The Windows 11 Start Menu instead displays your pinned apps, with a search bar letting you locate your less used programmes. There's also a recommended section that shows your recent activity so you can jump right back into your last used word document, spreadsheet or Photoshop project. This results in a more personalised experience, even letting you align the taskbar to the left of your screen if you prefer the older layout.
Of course, the bulk of the differences between Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 are for businesses. Most device management capabilities aren't available in Windows 11 Home at all. Windows 11 Pro, however, supports things like Group Policy, which lets IT admins configure certain policies for groups of devices in one go. There's also Windows Update for Business, which lets companies control how updates are rolled out to their users to avoid unexpected issues. Upgrades to Windows 11 will begin to roll out late in 2021 and continue into 2022.
During this time, we will be doing some behind the scenes testing and validating for your specific PC. Windows Update will provide an indication if and when your PC is eligible. What this means is that those without TPM 2.0 won't be able to upgrade to Windows 11, unless you purchase and install a TPM 2.0 Module. To find out if your device has TPM 2.0, search for "Windows Security" from the start menu, select "Device Security" then select "Security processor details". Be sure to check that "Specification Version" is 2.0, as previous versions will not be compatible. For gaming, this means saying goodbye to loading screens and hello to faster and smoother gameplay.
On a gaming-performance basis, let's just say we see no reason not to take the plunge to Windows 11 based on these results. Plenty of other considerations come into play with an OS upgrade, of course, but if the numbers lean either way, it's marginally in favor of Windows 11. No games in our tests performed worse on the new OS, at least, and a few saw better frame rates.