microsoft new standards of safe windows 10 pc
The Microsoft logo is shown on the Microsoft Theatre at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017 (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Microsoft Corporation has listed the new standards for "highly secure" Windows 10 devices including general purpose desktop, laptop, tablet, 2-in-1, mobile workstations and desktop. The company has included the bare minimum hardware and software requirements only for this system.

Users have to take note that these standards are not generally applicable to all Windows 10 versions. Microsoft is even specific to single out Window 10 1709 or the Fall Creators Update.

Also read: Windows 10 free upgrade to end December 31

The cloud giant zeroes in on six categories for hardware requirements. From the looks of it, many Windows device owners could fall short of the minimum criteria since most of them are actually newly developed technologies, the 7th generation processors for instance.

Even so, this new listing can largely help users decide which Windows devices to buy in the future.

Feature Details
Processor generation
  • Intel 7th generation Processors (Intel i3/i5/i7/i9-7x), Core M3-7xxx and Xeon E3-xxxx and current Intel Atom, Celeron and Pentium Processors
  • AMD through the 7th generation processors (A Series Ax-9xxx, E-Series Ex-9xxx, FX-9xxx)
Processor architecture Virtualization-based security (VBS) features require the Windows hypervisor, which is only supported on 64-bit IA processors, or ARM v8.2 CPUs
Virtualization
  • For IOMMU, the system must have Intel VT-d, AMD-Vi, or ARM64 SMMUs
  • For SLAT, the system must have Intel Vt-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), or AMD-v with Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI)
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Intel (PTT), AMD, or discrete TPM from Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Nuvoton
Platform boot verification Intel Boot Guard in Verified Boot mode, or AMD Hardware Verified Boot, or an OEM equivalent mode with similar functionality
RAM Systems must have 8 gigabytes or more of system RAM

In terms of the firmware, Microsoft has not been particularly specific. Check the components for firmware standards via this link.