Update: Mary Jo Foley reports:
Microsoft leaves a loophole for those wanting to run Windows 11 on 'unsupported' hardware
An "unsupported state," in this case, means your PC won't be entitled to receive updates via Windows Update. These may (or may not) include security and driver updates...
It seems Microsoft are relaxing their security hardware requirements for Windows 11 a little:
Microsoft Keeps Windows 11 Hardware Requirements, But Will Placate Enthusiasts | www.thurrott.com
Microsoft said that it will not step back from its stringent Windows 11 hardware requirements, but it will make concessions to enthusiasts….
Behind the scenes, Microsoft will allow enthusiasts who wish to upgrade non-compliant older PCs to Windows 11 to do so.
I think this is wise. End of support for Windows 10 in 2025 would otherwise consign lots of perfectly good hardware to the tip. I think the real issue is PCs reached 'good enough' for most maybe a decade ago and technologies for remote working, or cloud compute, are extending that even further.
We are currently in lockdown again. I have been doing 3D CAD design on a home i5 PC (running Windows 10), 8GB ram, 2 x 24 monitors which was purchased in 2009! It does have a more modern graphics card and SSD upgrade (in 2020) but is perfectly adequate as it was just remoting to a full blown CAD workstation.
I cant see why it wouldn't be fine doing that for another decade or so…