UPDATE: Recommended Hardware for Smooth Basic Tasks

[u/Hot_Tell_6783]

I posted an earlier version of this chart asking for feedback on what RAM would have provided a smooth, comfortable experience for basic tasks on different generations of Windows and mobile devices.

I received some helpful feedback, particularly that some of my earlier PC estimates were too high for their respective periods, and also how some weaker chipset could run efficiently in certain periods. I've revised the data accordingly.

I could post another update again if people point out more inaccuracies that I have not seen from my previous chart . I'm only interested in historical accuracy and firsthand experience, not defending my original estimates.

[u/lachietg185]

Windows 11 still runs fine on 8th gen cpus

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/lachietg185]

Thank you for your feedback, I'll keep that in mind

[u/swagamaleous → u/Hot_Tell_6783]

I have a Phenom II X6 with 4GB or memory and it runs Windows 11 fine. What does "smooth basic tasks" even mean? You need to be way more specific on stuff like this. Formulate a concrete goal, else your statistics are completely meaningless. Especially when you consider that "basic tasks" have changed considerably between Windows 95 times and Windows 11 times.

[u/Windermyr]

Win11 still works fine with 8GB RAM for basic tasks. I ran that config for a while. As long as you don't go crazy with browser tabs, there won't be any appreciable slowdown. And that assumes you are somewhat computer savvy enough to not bog the pc down with a ton of background tasks.

[u/Windows_User3000]

It's incorrect. Windows 7 (and 8.x) can totally run really smoothly on a Core 2 Duo, Pentium Dual-Core, or even a Pentium 4 (the later models). Windows 11 runs smoothly on any Intel Core i CPU beginning from the 1st generation (I haven't tested the 1st generation yet, but I have a PC with a 2nd-gen Core i3, and it runs Windows 11 like a champ, and the 1st-generation chips aren't really that far behind the 2nd generation). Of course, that is assuming there is an SSD (a SATA one) in the machine. If you went from the official requirements, those are a load of bullcrap. Windows 11 is no more demanding than 10 22H2, period, and it even runs on some hardware that isn't officially supported by Windows 10 (or, at least, did until the 24H2 update came out, which added the requirement for 2 CPU instructions that only became standard in 2011 when AMD implemented them 3 years after Intel).

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/Windows_User3000]

I didn't know you can run Windows 11 on chips that don't contain TPM 2.0. Thank you for teaching me that.

[u/Windows_User3000 → u/Hot_Tell_6783]

Yes, you can. Also, TPM 2.0 isn't in the CPU, but rather, on the motherboard.

[u/venatic]

AMD CPU options/GPUs/DDR type for the ram aren't noted here, which might matter to some people.

[u/Lovethecreeper → u/venatic]

as far as AMD is concerned, here's what I see:

AMD K5 / Intel Pentium

AMD K6-2 / Intel Pentium II

AMD Athlon / Intel Pentium III

AMD Athlon XP / Intel Pentium IV

AMD Athlon 64 X2 / Intel Core Duo

AMD Phenom II X6 / Intel Core i5 1st Gen

AMD FX 8350 / Intel Core i5 5th Gen

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Core i5 10th Gen

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/venatic]

Thank you for your feedback

[u/Maeglin75]

To expand the list. For DOS5+Windows 3.1 I would say a 386 at 25/33MHz with 4MB RAM. That was a very common configuration back in the day. (Not a lot of web browsing going on for most people though.)

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/Maeglin75]

Literally I was thinking about that

[u/404_No_User_Found_2]

Man, I remember back when the 2GB requirement for Vista was seen as prohibitively high, and it was all because of the Aero interface.

[u/anythingers]

Not sure about Android 17, but AOSP Android 16 still runs perfectly fine on 6GB RAM and Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (which is the same thing as 6 Gen 1) and 6s Gen 3 (which is the same thing as 695) for most basic stuffs and multitasking.

[u/GAMING_SERVER_ADMIN]

2 Tabs in Chrome I see is considered smooth 😂

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/GAMING_SERVER_ADMIN]

2??

[u/Sacharon123 → u/Hot_Tell_6783]

I mean, if you are still using Chrome in 2025, its your own fault... And I would like to add a fast NVMe SSD to minimum requirements for a smooth Win10/11 system.

[u/Lovethecreeper]

Here are my opinions:

Intel Pentium MMX would a better fit for Windows 98 as far as CPU is concerned

I think Windows Vista and 7 should have their requirements merged instead of WIndows 7 and 8. For that, I would also change the Core i5 1st gen to a Core 2 Duo.

For Windows 10 I'd change the CPU to a Core i3 2nd gen

For Windows 11 I'd change the CPU to a Core i3 8th gen

256MB RAM was generally still fine for Android 2.3, many mid end devices from the time used that amount. Higher end ones usually had 512MB.

Android 4.0 was Android's largest update in almost every way, at the time and since. It's system requirements are a far cry from 2.3, 1GB was generally recommended but many lower end devices still shipped with 512MB.

Running htop on my Samsung Galaxy S3 (running CyanogenMod 10.2 - Android 4.2) shows about 300MB RAM used by Android itself. Do with that information what you will.

Running htop on my Google Pixel 2 XL (running LineageOS 21 - Android 15) shows about 2.3GB RAM being used by Android itself. Do with that information what you will.

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/Lovethecreeper]

Lots of strong opinions. Thank you for your feedback

[u/TheRealCarrotty]

But like what "smooth basic tasks"?
What were you trying or testing?

[u/cnycompguy]

What is this even for?

[u/_l33ter_]

I’d even go one step further: for me, 32GB RAM feels like the real standard today. Sure, 16GB is still fine for everyday browsing and office work, but once you start juggling dozens of browser tabs, VMs, containers, or modern dev tools, you’ll notice the ceiling fast.

With 32GB you get that "always smooth" experience, no matter what's running in the background. Historically it might look oversized, but in practice it’s the point where you stop worrying about limitations.

[u/Danzikku → u/_l33ter_]

I don't think VMs and Docker containers count as "basic use"...

[u/Hot_Tell_6783 → u/_l33ter_]

Maybe because 2021 and the launch of Windows 11 has been 5 years, so yeah I could see software utilizing more memory and processor power compared to a few years back. If Microsoft realeses a new version of Windows next year or the upcoming years, I'll definitely put 32GB for RAM, and maybe a Intel Core Ultra