I'm having trouble upgrading to Windows 11 because my CPU isn't compatible and I don't have a TPM installed.
I'm having trouble upgrading to Windows 11 because my CPU isn't compatible and I don't have a TPM installed.
I received a gaming PC a few years back and have been using it smoothly until now. I checked online part picker sites to see if I could upgrade the CPU, then updated the motherboard, which in turn needed a RAM update. Could there be any alternative ways to keep things running without spending over $800 on upgrades so my system stays secure? I’ve listed the current components below for your reference.
The -4770k is significantly higher than the lower end of the Windows 11 compatible range.
Your choices:
1. Construct a new PC. (this 4770 is quite outdated)
2. Explore your alternatives with the ESU program and remain on Windows 10.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/window...ty-updates
Windows 10 Extended Security Updates | Microsoft Windows
Secure your PC with the Extended Security Updates program. Discover its benefits and learn how to install it.
www.microsoft.com
3. Continue using Windows 10 as is.
4. Pursue an unofficial route to upgrade to Windows 11.
5. Transition to Linux.
You listed not your case/chassis, drives or power supply (make model and age).
Of course you could just build a lil zen 2/3 system or intel 12th gen by switching out your cpu mobo and ram just don't expect the latest greatest gaming performance.
Your GPU is a nice to have so long as it keeps going. Without going into all the details immediately the basic idea is getting the win11 compatible parts for a proportionate price and avoiding some of the bugs and pitfalls in the process.
AM4+ Mobo Tier List
SPL's PSU Tier List
Win 10 Clean install
guide (info to survive upgrade process in it)
Win 11 Clean install
guide
More Win 10 failing to die options
So the name of the game is scrolling through the lists and seeing what's on sale at the moment. Not your kind of instant gratification hit it does require considerable patience to plough through the jargon and technobabble.
I however scored £25 off a tier a power supply lately and this week it's back at full retail of £125 got it for £99. Last week. Blink and you miss it. So you have to stake out retailer's websites for a bit to keep an eye on it. Ask me why they just randomly decided to hand out £25 to select customers for 1 week ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ capitalists everywhere should be having a nervous breakdown screaming 'refund!? refund!?'.
So here's picking some of the higher end zen 3 components
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor
($178.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler:
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Digital 88.89 CFM CPU Cooler
($42.59 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:
ASRock B550 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard
($166.32 @ MemoryC)
Memory:
G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory
($134.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply:
be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
($98.90 @ Amazon)
Total:
$621.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by
PCPartPicker
2025-10-20 22:40 EDT-0400
You could go significantly cheaper on the CPU, Mobo and Ram or likely at $600 get a foot in the door on an AM5 - Zen 4/5 budget build. Gotta be slightly careful the point of choosing the more quality parts is to avoid technical hitches.
The Asrock B550 Phantom Gaming mobo is half the price of the Pro4. And, G.Skill ram is the best quality and priciest. On the day I spotted a Kingston Fury Beast 32gb kit for £50 so I forget everything and grabbed it. Not the tightest latency I get about cas 16-19-19-38 out of it @3600mhz, but not many get 32gb for £50 so I'm happy.
So here's round 2 with it toned down a bit:
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor
($178.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler:
Thermalright Burst Assassin 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler
($18.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:
ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard
($79.98 @ Amazon)
Memory:
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply:
be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
($98.90 @ Amazon)
Total:
$471.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by
PCPartPicker
2025-10-21 01:21 EDT-0400
Could go lower could go for a r5 5600, x/t/xt or r5 5500 but the 8 core 16thread cpu will probly serve you longer. Could go lower to 16gb of memory even but 32gb is the new normal. Or higher to insanely tight latency and overclocked memory to run at 3800mhz (too expensive likely).
The problem with a zen 3 build which I'm totally gonna warn you about upfront is most of the way to a Zen 4/5 am5 build which makes it difficult, until you start trying to chuck in extras like additional usb storage, and additional nvme/ssd/hdd's then you can squeeze a bit more in .
I've only seen new builds on here AVOID-ing the budget range of zen 4/5 builds - doesn't mean nobody's done it or there's nothing interesting there but, if you buy a budget board it's still hard to upgrade later so false economy.
Whereas with the am4/Zen 3 build, at least it's definitely dead as far as upgrades go. The x3d chips are all gone on Zen 3, unless you risk second hand which imo, is not 50/50 odds of getting a working one.
But there are some new games like Battlefield 6 where you'll lack the sheer grunt for 1440p gaming though your monitor is locked at 60hz it seems, that'll die someday in the future and 144hz+ will be where zen3 starts to struggle when you get a new one later - could be years ahead if your monitor lasts for now, but still, a built in limitation that we can't avoid here.
But in spite of that there are probably thousands of games that you haven't played already, that will do great on it. And it'll also bring out the best in your 1660 super long as it lasts for the time being.
Far from definitive, does not include Intel 12th gen or Zen4/5 build for direct comparison but for the general idea, yes you absolutely do have to know the range of products and their hitches if you want to spot bargains.
You could even go stinky cheap and get a r5 4500 or even r3 4100 cpu just to pass the win 11 min requirements. It will be OK for web browsing and older games.
Total I've totted up so far is £350 for cpu, ram, mobo, and power supply to perform the exact same upgrade to win 11 manuever. All my games look better on my 1060 gtx and now I've got a tier A power supply I'm just gonna lurk for a while staking out gpu bargains like the worst customer ever.
Well that might be over egging it a bit. You could get even cheaper boards but imo, you'll get performance problems paired with a 5800xt. And that's probly the min. cpu that's going to be even remotely useful going forwards.
I mean, you could get a mATX cheapie board, a $40 cpu, 16gb of ram for $40 and a tier b or c power supply for $50 but, that will greatly restrict the choice of gpu in future. Seems like some of the older stuff was a lil overbuilt and lasting beyond it's software compatibility window. Practically anything will do web browsing, word processing, etc. mostly the games need a bit of vroom.
For ballpark ideas, there it is. Maybe there's a bit more cpu power on the intel side, how it stacks up cost wise, not sure since I didn't dive too deep into that I thought I was doing ok for £350 on zen 3. With this market so I guess I shaved £75 off the ram and power supply, lucky me.
Rufus offers a reliable method to remove all added restrictions from Windows 11, potentially allowing future updates to succeed before the current deadline. It might also prevent the issue altogether if the situation changes.
Alternative approaches include using bazzite, a Linux distribution that functions similarly to SteamOS, which can handle games without root access or anti-cheat systems effectively.