Insider test of Windows 11 Pro on a 6th Gen Intel mobile chipset
Insider test of Windows 11 Pro on a 6th Gen Intel mobile chipset
Today I added Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview from the Dev Channel onto my Asus N552VW laptop, which I purchased four and a half years ago. The setup included these specs: Intel Core-i7 6700HQ with Intel HD Graphics 530, 16 GB of 2133 MHz RAM, Nvidia GeForce 960M, a 128GB SSD plus an 1TB HDD. It looks like my machine landed in the yellow section. My device had TPM 2.0, but before installing I needed to switch the boot drive from MBR to GPT, update the BIOS from Legacy to UEFI, and turn on Secure Boot. Here are my thoughts on the Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview experience with this older setup:
The Positive: Centered Task Bar – While I didn’t mind the left-aligned task bar of Windows 10, a centered one seemed more user-friendly. I wasn’t expecting much from it and hoped for similar improvements in future versions of Windows 10.
Task Snaps – These features were impressive and easy to use. I’m hoping they’ll appear in upcoming Windows 10 releases too.
Battery Tracker – The built-in battery monitor gave a clear picture of my usage, which was quite useful.
Overall feel – It retained much of the familiar Windows 10 look and behavior, making the transition smoother.
The Negative: Performance Issues – There was noticeable lag. Animations ran smoothly but the whole interface felt slower than Windows 10. Clicking on items in the taskbar often caused a 0.5–1 second delay before the app launched. Navigating between settings took about 1–2 seconds per click, which was less responsive than in Windows 10. Switching themes also took around 5–6 seconds, compared to just 1–2 seconds on Windows 10. This might be due to the new glassy design or the limited storage space (only ~5GB available, mostly from a large Windows.old folder).
Widgets – They didn’t function properly; signing in to a Microsoft account would freeze the screen.
Random Crashes – The system occasionally shut down unexpectedly without warning.
The Message – Microsoft’s communication felt unclear. It mentioned that devices not meeting the minimum requirements for the Insider program would be removed from General Availability, but didn’t address users who met the Insider criteria but not Windows 11 specs. I wondered whether I’d still receive a Windows 11 release or be forced to revert to Windows 10.
In the end, I chose to revert to Windows 10 because it was simpler to roll back now than wait six months for a potential reinstall if Microsoft decided to remove me from General Availability. I don’t see much value in features like Auto HDR or enhanced multi-window/touch support, and those minor improvements aren’t essential for my needs.
It's a helpful feature to revert to the task bar on the left side when it's active, as it returns to the traditional layout.
Sure, I also gave it a try but then switched back to the middle since it seemed easier.
It works fine in virtual box, but my installation got corrupted so I switched to VMware. Now even after creating a new VM, the requirements for TPM 2.0 appear. After installing VMware tools, disabling graphics and switching to performance mode helped, but the system remains slow. It uses more resources than expected.
It seems unusual. It’s unclear how it manages extra memory usage beyond what’s allocated. I’ve only run Hyper-V for a while, and its performance feels more efficient overall.
Users often face certain problems with Ram, maybe because they don’t delete unused apps... Win 11 seems relatively smooth overall, though there are some issues, but it’s still quick. It runs faster than 10, and I’d say it feels less sluggish.