AMD Announces Windows 7 Support for Ryzen

AMD has announced that its new Ryzen processors will support Windows 7. The bold move – announced by AMD a special Ryzen event – should ensure an extra slice of market share against Intel, whose Kaby Lake processors do not officially support Windows 7, and only partially support Windows 8.1.

“AMD’s Ryzen and other socket AM4 chipsets will receive drivers for Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system,” ComputerBase writes [in German]. “This was announced by the manufacturer during a presentational event on the platform. Intel’s Kaby Lake processors only  officially support Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 [and not Windows 7].”

However, while AMD will provide Windows 7 support, it does require Microsoft to meet it halfway in order to provide full support, which seems unlikely considering the Redmond company’s stance on supporting its operating systems before Windows 10.

“This does not have to mean that Windows 7 will fully support all the features of Ryzen and AM4 chipsets,” ComputerBase explains. “The operating system has been receiving security and function updates for more than two years, and Microsoft has confirmed its intention not to fully support new processors for its operating systems prior to Windows 8.1. For example, Windows 7 running with an Intel Kaby Lake processor does not fully support the existing HEVC (H.264) driver. Even the built-in Windows 8.1 Media Player does not support HEVC with Kaby Lake. A Ryzen CPU without graphics support could suffer similar problems.”

AMD’s Ryzen chips are expected to be released in March.