High tech

Intel’s Upcoming Skylake Processors Will Be the Last CPUs to Support Older Version of Windows

Intel’s upcoming Skylake processors are going to be something special. One reason: they’ll be the last new Intel CPUs to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, in accordance with a new policy from Microsoft. Going forward, Microsoft says that they’ll only support new silicon on the latest and greatest versions of the Windows operating system. Windows lead Terry Myerson notes that doing so “enables [Microsoft] to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon”. It’s also about making sure that a Windows PC can take full advantage of a processor’s abilities, and vice versa. They’re phasing the change in now, starting with Intel’s Skylake chips. Not all Skyake-based systems will receive any sort of long-term attention from Microsoft. These systems will continue to receive Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 support until the middle of July 2017. After that, Microsoft says, they should be upgraded to Windows 10 to continue receiving support.