How to Find Windows 10 Computer Specifications & Systems Requirements

Here’s an overview of how to find computer specification requirements, versions, and languages available for Windows 10.

Table of Contents

System requirements for installing Windows 10

These are the basic requirements for installing Windows 10 on a PC. If your device does not meet these requirements, you may not have the great experience intended with Windows 10 and might want to consider purchasing a new PC.

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit

Hard drive size:

32GB or larger hard disk

Note: See below under “More information on hard drive space to install or update Windows 10” for more details.

Compatible with DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

Display: 800×600 Internet Connection:

Internet connectivity is necessary to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. Windows 10 Pro in S mode, Windows 10 Pro Education in S mode, Windows 10 Education in S mode, and Windows 10 Enterprise in S mode require an internet connection during the initial device setup (Out of Box Experience or OOBE), as well as either a Microsoft account (MSA) or Azure Activity Directory (AAD) account. Switching a device out of Windows 10 in S mode also requires internet connectivity. Learn more about S mode here.

There may be additional requirements over time for updates, as well as requirements to turn on specific features within the OS.

Keeping Windows 10 up-to-date

Windows 10 is designed to deliver updates for the supported lifetime of the device. Two types of updates may be provided: quality updates and feature updates. Quality updates include both security and non-security updates and are typically targeted to be released once a month. Feature updates also include security and non-security fixes as well as new features to Windows 10 and are typically provided twice a year. Ensuring that your device receives these updates and is kept up-to-date is important for your device security. Windows 10 periodically checks for updates so you don’t have to. When an update is available—and sufficient free disk space is available on your device—it will be automatically installed. So that Windows 10 continues to stay updated, it’s important to ensure your device has sufficient free space. See additional applicable details in the following notes.

Important notes about updates:

• A device might not be able to receive updates if the device hardware is incompatible, if it lacks current drivers or sufficient available hard drive space, or if it’s otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (“OEM”) support period. Visit the Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet or the Lifecycle FAQ for Windows products to learn more about the servicing timeline for each feature update.
  • Some of the disk space needed for installing updates is only temporarily required. Typically, ten days after installing an update, a disk cleanup will be automatically performed to delete copies of the older, unneeded Windows files and free up space again.
• Not all features in an update will work on all devices.
• An internet connection is required to perform updates and Internet access (ISP) fees might apply.
• If you need assistance installing an update, Windows 10 Update Assistant may be able to help.

More information on hard drive space requirements to install or update Windows 10

The size of the Windows operating system that comes with your device and the amount of space needed to download and install Windows updates, are highly variable as they depend on a variety of factors. Visit here to learn why. The factors that impact the amount of free hard drive space needed to take an update include: the versions of Windows previously installed on the machine, the amount of disk space available to reuse from Windows files, such as the virtual memory pagefile or hibernation file, which applications are installed on your device and how those applications store data. Starting with the May 2019 Update, the system requirements for hard drive size for clean installs of Windows 10 as well as new PCs changed to a minimum of 32GB. The 32GB or larger drive requirement is set to leave space for users to install apps and to keep data on the device. Installing Windows or updating from a previous version of Windows on devices with less than 32GB storage will continue to work if the device has enough free space available. When updating, Windows will attempt to automatically free up enough hard drive space and guide you through freeing up even more if the automatic cleanup is not sufficient. You can also take steps to free up space on your own. For more information, see Free up space to install the latest Windows 10 update or visit the related FAQ.

Feature-specific requirements for Windows 10

In addition to the requirements above that are needed to run Windows, some features have additional requirements. In some cases, features included with updated versions of Windows 10 will be best experienced with newer processors. For specific hardware support please refer to your Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Below are some additional details regarding requirements for key features:

• BitLocker Drive Encryption (available with Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise only) requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 or higher and Trusted Computing Group (TCG)-compliant BIOS or UEFI. BitLocker can be used on devices without TPM, but you will need to save a startup key on a removable device such as a USB flash drive. TPM 2.0 and InstantGo support is required when you want to automatically encrypt the local drive when joining a device to Azure Active Directory (AAD). Check with your PC manufacturer to confirm if your device supports the correct TPM version and InstantGo for the scenario you want to enable.
• BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (available in Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (available in Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Cortana is only currently available on Windows 10 for the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Spain, Australia and India.
• Microsoft account is required for some features.
• Miracast requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.3, and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
• Movies & TV application is not available in all regions. For the most up-to-date list of regions, please go to the Movies & TV information page.
• Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database.
• Skype is available only in select countries and regions. Calling to select countries and regions only. Excludes special, premium and non-geographic numbers. For details, visit the Office FAQ page.
• Snap: The number of applications that can be snapped will depend upon the minimum resolution for the application with a limit of two applications in Tablet mode and four applications in Desktop mode.
• Speech recognition will vary by device microphone. For a better speech experience, you will need a:
  • High fidelity microphone array
  • Hardware driver with microphone array geometry exposed
• Tablet mode is available on tablets and 2-in-1s with GPIO indicators or those that have a laptop and slate indicator will be able to be configured to enter «tablet mode» automatically.
• Touch: To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multi-touch.
• Two-factor authentication requires the use of a PIN, Biometric (finger print reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
• Windows Hello requires a camera configured for near infrared (IR) imaging or fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a PIN or a portable Microsoft compatible security key.
• Xbox application requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions. For the most up-to-date list of regions, please go to Xbox Live Countries and Regions website.
• Wi-Fi Direct Printing requires a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct and a device that supports Wi-Fi Direct Printing.

What Are Windows 10 Requirements?

You’ll obtain better performance if your system exceeds minimum requirements

Windows 10 minimum requirements aren’t much more stringent than Windows 7, but there are some aspects that have been modernized to the point of needing a little more hardware horsepower.

Windows 10 Home and Pro Requirements

Windows 10 requirements differ for memory and disk space between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

• CPU: 1 gigahertz (1 GHZ) or faster processor or system on a chip
• Memory: 1 GB or more for 32-bit Windows or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Storage Space: 16 GB for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible GPU with support for Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or later.
• Display Resolution: 800 x 600 or greater.
• Internet Connection: Any speed connection is required for authentication and initial device setup. Also useful for applying updates.

Windows 10 CPU Requirements

The central processor is the main processing brain of your system. It performs the majority of calculations Windows 10 requires to operate.

As a rule, a CPU that not only runs at a faster frequency (that’s the GHz bit) but offers multiple cores so it can do more things at once, will yield better performance than a minimum-required CPU. Most modern CPUs are dual-core or better, so two cores is a good place to start, but if you’re engaged in computation-heavy work like complex number-crunching or video rendering, you’ll still find a benefit to using a quad-core or even a hex-core CPU.

Another important factor is the age of the CPU. For a good rule of thumb, you want a CPU from no earlier than 2010. If you have a chip that’s younger than that, has at least two cores, and runs at 2GHz or above, you’ll enjoy a faster Windows 10 experience.

Windows 10 Memory Requirements

Random-access memory acts as short-term-memory for your system, holding information your CPU will need to access quickly instead of through much-slower disk accessing. If you have too little RAM, your system slows down.

Memory requirements in Windows 10 are one of the few factors differentiating the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system. While 1 GB or 2 GB is enough to simply run those respective versions of the operating system, you’ll certainly run into bottlenecks if you perform even basic web browsing with a few tabs at a time.

If you’re running or looking to run Windows 10 32-bit, the most RAM you can take advantage of (due to operating system limitations) is 4GB.

If you’re running or looking to run Windows 10 64-bit, you can have as much memory as you like. For most use cases, though, 8GB is more than enough.

Windows 10 Storage Space Requirements

If you don’t have enough storage space you cannot install Windows 10. It needs at least 16 GB for the 32-bit version and at least 20 GB for the 64-bit version. That’s not a lot by today’s standards, with many smartphones having more space than that, but some low-end and especially older devices might be limited to 20GB or less.

If you’re looking to run Windows 10 on a desktop PC or laptop, install the operating system on solid-state drive. They’re far more affordable than they used to be and can have the biggest impact in speeding up your Windows 10 experience.

However, should they be outside your budget, a standard hard drive is perfectly adequate. Acquire a drive with double the storage Microsoft recommends for Windows 10. There’s no use in being able to run an operating system if you don’t have any space to install anything else. Games, videos, and certain applications can require several gigabytes by themselves. Having a spare 10 GB to 30 GB of space will go a long way to ensuring you have plenty of room to work and play with.

Windows 10 Graphics Requirements

You don’t need to worry too much about graphics if you have a CPU from the past decade. Although it’s worth double-checking, most modern CPUs are equipped with a compatible graphics core that will be more than enough to handle Windows 10. You could also use an add-in graphics card if you want more power for gaming.

The graphics requirements for Windows 10 are much the same as they were when Windows Vista released in 2006.

Windows 10 Display Resolution Requirements

Screen resolution requirements for Windows 10 aren’t stringent—even PCs and monitors of the early 2000s were able to handle 800 pixels by 600 pixels. With that in mind, this is a very low barrier to entry, so if you can, it’s recommended you run a system with a greater display resolution. Videos, websites, and games will look far better and you’ll have a lot more screen space to enjoy your Windows 10 experience.

Windows 10 Internet Connection Requirements

Because Windows 10 offers rolling software updates, it requires at least periodic access to the internet to download update packages.