In the beginning of the Windows 8 project we started with the notion that you should get all that you need for computing from a single PC—that you do not need to choose between two desirable options, but that you can indeed have what you want in a single PC. The Consumer Preview is about saying “of course you can” to all those things you want to be able to do with your PC. You don’t need to choose between consumption and productivity, between portable and powerful, or between touch and keyboard. Windows 8 doesn’t force you to compromise. It isn’t about “modes” of working, but is about seamlessly moving through all the things you want to do on your PC in the way you want to do them. And the first step in achieving that was making sure Windows 8 works great with the hardware and peripherals you already have. To run the Consumer Preview, we recommend you start with your Windows 7 PC identified by a Windows 7 logo. While some software and devices will require updates provided by the manufacturer, we are committed to supporting any device with a Windows 7 logo. Occasionally the manufacturer will decide that a PC or peripheral is not supported and will say so on their website. However, since we are still in pre-release, not every manufacturer has this information available and so we ask your patience during this testing period. Software utilities such as security, management, and disk tools are normally tied very closely to the specific Windows version for which they were designed and will require updates from the manufacturer. Whether you have a logo PC or you’ve built your own PC, the recommendations for the Consumer Preview include:We’re very excited to get to the point in the project where we can provide a pre-release version of Windows 8 that is broadly usable by the tech community on a daily basis. We know folks who are anxious to run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview are probably interested in suggestions around what hardware to use. This post provides the technical details behind system recommendations. These are not system requirements, and are not final, but simply a view of what works best for running the Consumer Preview. Grant George, our corporate vice president of Windows Test, authored this post.
--Steven <hr />
- 1 GHz or faster processor
- 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
- HP Elitebook 2760p convertible (Note: This PC is 1280x800 and so does not support snap.)
- ASUS EP121 tablet (Note: his PC is 1280x800 and so does not support snap.)
- Dell Inspiron Duo convertible
- Lenovo x220t convertible
- 3M M2256PW 22” display (Note: The raised bezel can make it harder to swipe along the edges)
- Samsung Series 7 slate (Note: This PC has two models, one was provided to attendees at //build/ and the other is a commercial release the latter has slightly different peripherals and firmware.)
- Secured Boot requires a new UEFI BIOS, which is not available broadly on PCs yet, but is starting to be made available. If your machine does have UEFI, you can enable it via BIOS settings.
- BitLocker does not require but performs more seamlessly if your PC has a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Machines that have this sometimes require it to be enabled via BIOS settings. BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive that meets performance criteria evaluated at installation time.
- Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and an additional 2 GB of RAM. You can also enable SLAT via a BIOS setting.
- Some games and other software require graphics capabilities compatible with DirectX 10 or higher (including some games available in the Consumer Preview and in the Windows Store. We will continue to improve the verification of your system prior to downloading or running software with these requirements). Some games and programs might require a graphics card for optimal performance.
- If you clean install instead of upgrade (see below), you should check your PC manufacturer's website to make sure you install any specific drivers that they provide there. Many laptops will get better battery life with a power-optimized driver that is specific for that PC (often known as ACPI, Power, or Chipset driver).
Source: [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/29/running-the-consumer-preview-system-recommendations.aspx]Windows 8 Blog
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