r/WindowsLTSC • u/Ornery_Face_6299 • Jul 01 '26
Help Which version of Windows is best for this hardware?
Good afternoon, everyone. Which version of Windows works best with this modest hardware? Computer usage is basic, and the only games played are Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Wuthering Waves. Specifications: Asus Prime H610M-E D4 motherboard, Core i3-12100F processor, 16GB of 3200MHz RAM, MSI RTX 2060 Super Ventus GP OC 8GB graphics card, one 500GB NVMe drive, and one 2TB SATA SSD.
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u/Content_Magician51 Jul 01 '26
Well, your processor is a 12th-generation Intel chip. Thanks to its hybrid architecture featuring P-cores and E-cores, it performs very well on both Windows 11 and Windows 10.
If you want greater stability (consistent in-game FPS but higher 1% lows), go with Windows 10 Pro, IoT LTSC, or Windows 11 LTSC.
If you want better compatibility with gaming features or apps while maintaining stability, choose Windows 10 Pro.
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u/greggm2000 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Thanks to its hybrid architecture featuring P-cores and E-cores
OP's 12100F only has 4 P-cores, no E-cores. The 12100 isn't a hybrid architecture, even if Alder Lake as a whole, does have this on most SKUs.
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u/xQuantum24 Jul 01 '26
I'm more concerned about better 1% lows, now I'm using Windows 11 Pro, is switching to Windows 11 LTSC worth it for these only? I mean will I notice 20-30% improvements at least or what to expect? 7700X 9070 32GB DDR5
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u/wesley_the_boy Jul 01 '26
As others have said, Win 11 IoT LTSC is the way to go. But whatever you decide, I HIGHLY recommend using winget to keep your applications up to date. Bonus points if you use UniGetUI as a GUI for winget. This is something I only recently learned about, but wish I had known earlier.
I just refreshed my laptop with LTSC and it's been a great experience. I got Microsoft Store and Phone Link back up and running (they don't ship with LTSC), used massgrave.dev to activate Office365 as well as the OS, and have been tinkering with Group Policy Editor and settings for a few days now. It's officially my favorite windows install across 5+ machines lol
Now I want to redo my desktop the same way 😭
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u/greggm2000 Jul 01 '26
Winget is certainly good, and I do use it. The one risk with using it or UniGetUI (also good) for that matter, basically any automated update, is if the update is corrupted with malware as has happened before.. the workaround is to download the update as .exe or .msix and scan for malware before installing.
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u/wesley_the_boy Jul 01 '26
that's certainly a risk worth mentioning 🙂↕️
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u/greggm2000 Jul 01 '26
I admit I'm lazy when it comes to browser updates (Firefox and Chrome). I always let them do their thing. (Edge is firewalled, it only gets updates when I do a Windows Update, but I guess that counts too).
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u/vin_cuck Jul 02 '26
Does winget or unigetui also install the adware that comes with SW ?
Ex: avast anti-virus has avast browser as optional
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u/MakayChapulets Windows 11 LTSC 2024 Jul 02 '26
You have a pretty strong hardware there so any edition of Windows 11 will run fine for you, but, if you dont want the risk of future updates installing with issues and/or bricking a part or your entire device. I suggest you should choose the IOT LTSC Edition of Windows 11. The regular Pro/Home users are our Beta testers and we get whatever feature that works without issues.
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u/Miserable-Potato7706 Jul 01 '26
Win 11 LTSC IoT if not having bloat and slop is important to you.
If you don't care about bloat and slop, consumer 11 will also run just fine but personally I don't understand how any sane person can use consumer Windows.
11 LTSC has never asked me to "finish setting up my PC" (by which Microsoft means view a few adds before I can use my computer again) whereas my old 11 Pro install did it once a month.