Hardware requirements to run Windows 7
Windows 7 is here! We thought it would be helpful to have the hardware requirements posted for anyone who is thinking of upgrading thier existing PC to Windows 7.
Here are the system requirements for Windows 7:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- Internet access
- Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
- For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required
- Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
- HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
- DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive
- BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
- Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
- Music and sound require audio output
* Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require advanced or additional hardware. Resource list above posted on the Microsoft site.
Keep in mind that these are the Microsoft recommended specs. PCI’s experience tells us to DOUBLE THEM!
[...] Specifications – Windows Vista required a huge investment in hardware, including more memory and a better processor. Windows 7 can work on more Windows XP hardware, [...]