In a nutshell: As Microsoft prepares to end free security updates for Windows 10 in October, a significant challenge looms for charities that refurbish and distribute older computers to those in need. With an estimated 240 million PCs unable to meet the stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11, these organizations face a difficult decision: provide potentially insecure Windows 10 systems, send them to e-waste recyclers, or explore alternative operating systems like Linux.

Microsoft’s requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 compatibility. However, the supported Intel CPU list only goes back to 8th Gen chips, introduced in 2017, while the AMD list includes Ryzen 2000 series and above.

    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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      19 minutes ago

      Hey if you’re in the states, I ended up with a pallet of PCs from an auction I didn’t expect to win and my wife would be happy to see one more disappear, so if you want to cover shipping I’d be happy to send it off to ya. They’re just HP Elitedesk SFFs with 4th gen i5s, but there’s a bunch of half-height PCIe slots and 3.5" bays and even a DVD drive so plenty of expandability to get yourself into trouble with

    • Fondots@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Lol, I’ll keep that in mind, internet stranger. I do have a lot of techy friends who I’ll probably offer it up to first, and I haven’t quite ruled out running Linux myself either to keep as my main PC or to use as a media server or something, but I’ll keep you in mind if I’m looking to get rid of it in a few months.

      If it does come to that, pay for shipping (or pick it up if you happen to be local) and it’s yours. Feel free to hit me up to ask about it come november-ish if I don’t reach out first. No guarantees it will be available, but I’d rather it go to someone who’s going to use it than be waste