Hardware requirements[edit]

Hardware requirements[edit]
PCs[edit]

The minimum system requirements for Windows 8 are slightly higher than those of Windows 7. The CPU must support the Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX bit, and SSE2. Windows Store apps require a screen resolution of 1024×768 or higher to run; a resolution of 1366×768 or higher is required to use the snap functionality.[115] To receive certification, Microsoft requires candidate x86 systems to resume from standby in 2 seconds or less.[116]
Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 8[117]Requirement    Minimum    Recommended
Processor    1 GHz clock rate
IA-32 or x64 architecture
Support for PAE, NX and SSE2[118][119]    x64 architecture
Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) support for Hyper-V
Memory (RAM)    IA-32 edition: 1 GB
x64 edition: 2 GB    4 GB
Graphics Card    DirectX 9 graphics device
WDDM 1.0 or higher driver    DirectX 10 graphics device
Display screen    N/A    1024×768 pixels
Input device    Keyboard and mouse    multi-touch display screen
Hard disk space    IA-32 edition: 16 GB
x64 edition: 20 GB    N/A
Other    N/A    UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B with Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in its database
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Internet connectivity


Microsoft's Connected Standby specification, which hardware vendors may optionally comply with, sets new power consumption requirements that extend above the above minimum specifications.[120] Included in this standard are a number of security-specific requirements designed to improve physical security, notably against Cold Boot Attacks.