Windows 11 24H2 is getting another hardware request. SSE 4.2 instruction set is now required to run. But is this criterion even useful?
X informed about this new condition on the social network Bob Pony. If you’re thinking that sounds familiar, you’re partly right. The new requirement is very similar to the condition on the POPCNT instruction.
But this minor change won’t change anything for Windows 11 users today. All modern systems that support Windows 11 already have SSE 4.2 long ago. The reality is that this instruction set has been around for almost 20 years. The only people theoretically affected are DIYers and enthusiasts trying to run Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
Bob Pony confirms that specifically SSE 4.2 is required, so any old processors will not work even if they have SSE 4a for example. User X has even created a Windows 11 24H2 tester, which can be used to verify whether the new version of Windows 11 will run on a given build. Summa summarum, we have nothing to worry about, because current computers have this standard for a long time.
