We have known about the system requirements for Windows 11 since June, but it caused a great deal of confusion at the time. Especially since Microsoft only supported fairly new Intel processors. Now, Asus may have a solution.

Asus announced that it is working on new firmware for some older Intel hardware, allowing Windows 11 to be installed (via Windows Latest) on laptops and PCs with older chips. This would in effect circumvent the original system requirements as presented by Microsoft.

The changelog for Asus' STRIX Z270F motherboard details that this hardware "supports Windows 11 by default and does not require any configuration changes in the UEFI BIOS. Not only that, but the change log in BIOS 1501 of the MAXIMUS IX FORMULA also confirms that Windows 11 support is in preparation.

Indeed, Asus appears to have plans to support many 6th and 7th generation Intel processors. This means that users with hardware that is not technically compatible with the new OS but still works perfectly can upgrade to Windows 11. Moreover, they do not have to purchase new hardware or unofficially try to install a new OS.

Microsoft has stated that it may be possible to run Windows 11 (unofficially) on older Intel hardware. However, this would require downloading the new OS using a tool such as the Media Creation Tool, which may be beyond the technical capabilities of some people. Furthermore, Microsoft does not provide support for performance issues that occur when running Windows 11 on older hardware.

Asus is quick to point out that this is still "a beta BIOS version of the motherboard and is in final testing before official release. In other words, it's not ready yet, and users of older hardware will need a bit more patience to ditch Windows 10.

However, just because Asus is testing Windows 11 on older hardware does not mean that other hardware manufacturers will do the same. Likewise, update or no update, we don't know how well the OS will perform on older hardware; we'll have to wait until Windows 11 is officially released on October 5.