Microsoft’s minimum hardware requirement for Windows 11 operating system has made millions of PCs not upgradable to Windows 11. In addition to the secure boot and TPM 2.0 requirement, Windows 11 also needs a 64-bit processor.
Since Windows 11 is compatible with a relatively small number of processors, PC users have many queries concerning processor requirements.
Are Intel Core i3 processors compatible with Windows 11?
The short answer is yes. Windows 11 is compatible with Intel Core 3 processors. However, not all Core i3 processors support Windows 11.
Only 8th generation and later Core i3 processors support Windows 11. This means that Intel Core i3 processors of the 1st to 7th generation do not support Windows 11. You can refer to how to check your Intel processor generation guide to know if Windows 11 supports your Intel processor.
If your PC’s processor does not support Windows 11, you do not need to worry, as Windows 10 will continue to work on your PC without any issues. According to Microsoft, Windows 10 will get support until October 2025.
List of Intel Core i3 processors that support Windows 11
According to this page of Microsoft, Windows 11 supports a total of fifty Intel Core i3 processors. Here is the full list:
Intel® Core™ i3-8100
Intel® Core™ i3-8100B
Intel® Core™ i3-8100H
Intel® Core™ i3-8100T
Intel® Core™ i3-8109U
Intel® Core™ i3-8140U
Intel® Core™ i3-8300
Intel® Core™ i3-8300T
Intel® Core™ i3-8350K
Intel® Core™ i3-8130U
Intel® Core™ i3-8145U
Intel® Core™ i3-8145UE
Intel® Core™ i3-9100
Intel® Core™ i3-9100E
Intel® Core™ i3-9100F
Intel® Core™ i3-9100HL
Intel® Core™ i3-9100T
Intel® Core™ i3-9100TE
Intel® Core™ i3-9300
Intel® Core™ i3-9300T
Intel® Core™ i3-9320
Intel® Core™ i3-9350K
Intel® Core™ i3-9350KF
Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
Intel® Core™ i3-10110Y
Intel® Core™ i3-10100
Intel® Core™ i3-10100E
Intel® Core™ i3-10100F
Intel® Core™ i3-10100T
Intel® Core™ i3-10100TE
Intel® Core™ i3-10105
Intel® Core™ i3-10105F
Intel® Core™ i3-10105T
Intel® Core™ i3-10110U
Intel® Core™ i3-10300
Intel® Core™ i3-10300T
Intel® Core™ i3-10305
Intel® Core™ i3-10305T
Intel® Core™ i3-10320
Intel® Core™ i3-10325
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G1
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1005G1
Intel® Core™ i3-L13G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1110G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4E
Intel® Core™ i3-1115GRE
Intel® Core™ i3-1120G4
Intel® Core™ i3-1125G4
How to check the Intel processor number in Windows 10
Step 1: On your Windows 10 PC, navigate to Settings > System > About page.
Step 2: In the Device Specifications section, the Processor field displays the processor model number.
Is there a workaround to install Windows 11 on unsupported Intel Core i3 processors?
Yes, there are workarounds out there to install Windows 11 on unsupported processors, but when Windows 11 is installed on a PC with an unsupported processor, you might not get optical performance. Additionally, unsupported PCs might not get updates in the future. Therefore, we do not recommend installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
