This page provides a clean, easy-to-read reference for the minimum hardware requirements of every major Windows version from Windows 1.0 to Windows 11. Use this guide to quickly check RAM, CPU, graphics, and storage requirements across the entire Windows family.
Minimum System Requirements for All Windows Versions
The table below lists the minimum hardware specifications required to install and run each version of Microsoft Windows. These values represent Microsoft’s official baseline requirements at the time of release.
| Windows Version | Minimum RAM | CPU Requirement | Graphics Requirement | Storage Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 1.0 | 256 KB | 8086/8088 | CGA/EGA | 2 MB |
| Windows 2.0 | 512 KB | 8086/286 | CGA/EGA/VGA | 3 MB |
| Windows 3.x | 1–2 MB | 286/386 | VGA | 6–10 MB |
| Windows 95 | 4 MB | 386DX | VGA | 50 MB |
| Windows 98 | 16 MB | 486DX | VGA | 500 MB |
| Windows ME | 32 MB | Pentium | VGA | 320 MB |
| Windows NT 3.x | 12–16 MB | 386/486 | VGA | 90–120 MB |
| Windows NT 4.0 | 16 MB | Pentium | VGA | 110 MB |
| Windows 2000 | 64 MB | Pentium II | VGA | 650 MB |
| Windows XP | 64–128 MB | Pentium II | SVGA | 1.5 GB |
| Windows Vista | 512 MB | 1 GHz | DirectX 9 | 15 GB |
| Windows 7 | 1–2 GB | 1 GHz | DirectX 9 | 16–20 GB |
| Windows 8 / 8.1 | 1–2 GB | 1 GHz | DirectX 9 | 16–20 GB |
| Windows 10 | 2 GB | 1 GHz | DirectX 9 | 20 GB |
| Windows 11 | 4 GB | 1 GHz (64‑bit) | DirectX 12 + WDDM 2.0 | 64 GB |
Note: These are minimum requirements. Real-world performance typically requires higher specifications, especially for modern workloads.