Simple Overview

This table covers chip and operating system evolution from 2007 through 2025, published in 2026 as a retrospective. As technology improved, computer processors became more powerful, graphics cards took on more work, and security chips were added to keep everything safe.

💡 Why This Matters

Understanding your computer’s chip type helps you know:

  • Which Windows versions your computer can run
  • Whether your computer can handle newer software
  • If your computer is compatible with Linux distributions
  • How long your computer will receive security updates

Key Point: Newer chips support newer Windows versions and have better security features. Older chips may not be able to run the latest Windows 11 or newer Linux versions.

Understanding the Components

Before looking at the table, here’s what each type of component does:

  • 🔹 CPU (Processor): The main “brain” of your computer that handles most tasks
  • 🎮 GPU (Graphics Card): Handles graphics, gaming, and increasingly, complex calculations
  • 🔒 TPM (Security Chip): A special chip that keeps your computer secure and is required for Windows 11

Chip and Operating System Evolution (2007–2025)

****Year Type Manufacturer Chip Name / GPU Operating System / GPU Driver End of Support / Release
2007 🔹 IBM z9 / z10 Mainframe z/OS Supported (ongoing)
2007 🔹 HP Itanium (PA-RISC successor) HP-UX HP-UX 11i v3: Dec 2025†
2007 🔹 Sun UltraSPARC T2 Solaris Solaris 10: 2018; SPARC hardware: 2025
2007 🔹 Apple Mac (Intel, Core 2 Duo era) macOS (OS X 10.5 Leopard) macOS support dropped ~2012
2007 🔹 Intel Core 2 Duo Windows XP, Vista, Linux XP: Apr 2014; Vista: Apr 2017
2007 🔒 Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2 (discrete/optional) Windows Vista, Linux (tpm-tools) Spec published 2003; superseded by TPM 2.0 (2014)
2007 🎮 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX Windows XP/Vista, Linux (CUDA 1.0) CUDA 1.0: Nov 2006
2010 🔹 IBM z196 z/OS Supported (ongoing)
2010 🔹 Apple Mac (Intel, Nehalem/Westmere era) macOS macOS support dropped ~2020
2010 🔹 Intel Core i7 (Westmere) Windows 7, 8, Linux, macOS Win 7: Jan 2020; Win 8: Jan 2023
2010 🔒 Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2 (widespread) Windows 7, Linux (tpm-tools) Superseded by TPM 2.0 spec (2014)
2010 🎮 NVIDIA Fermi (GTX 480) Windows 7/8, Linux (CUDA 3.0) CUDA 3.0: Mar 2010
2015 🔹 IBM z13 z/OS Supported (ongoing)
2015 🔹 Apple Mac (Intel, Broadwell/Skylake era) macOS macOS support dropped ~2023
2015 🔹 Intel Core i7/i9 (Skylake) Windows 8, 10, Linux, macOS Win 8: Jan 2023; Win 10: Oct 2025 (EOS reached)
2015 🔒 Trusted Computing Group TPM 2.0 (widely adopted) Windows 8.1, 10, Linux (tpm2-tools) Spec finalized 2014; required for Win 11 (2021)
2015 🎮 NVIDIA Maxwell (GTX 980) Windows 8/10, Linux (CUDA 6.1) CUDA 6.1: Sep 2014
2020 🔹 IBM z15 z/OS Supported (ongoing)
2020 🔹 Apple M1 (ARM, first Apple Silicon Mac) macOS, Linux (Asahi) Supported (ongoing)
2020 🔹 Intel Core i9 (Tiger Lake / 11th gen) Windows 10, 11, Linux, macOS Win 10: Oct 2025 (EOS reached); Win 11: ongoing
2020 🔒 Trusted Computing Group TPM 2.0 (required for Win 11) Windows 10, 11, Linux (tpm2-tools) Mandated by Windows 11 from Oct 2021
2020 🎮 NVIDIA Ampere (RTX 3080) Windows 10/11, Linux (CUDA 11.0) CUDA 11.0: Sep 2020
2022 🔹 IBM z16 (released Apr 2022) z/OS Supported (ongoing)
2023 🔹 Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake, 1st gen) Windows 11, Linux, macOS Ongoing
2024 🔹 Apple M4 (released May 2024) macOS, Linux (Asahi) Supported (ongoing)
2025 🔹 Intel Core Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake / Lunar Lake) Windows 11, Linux, macOS Ongoing
2025 🔒 Trusted Computing Group TPM 2.0+ (universal, firmware/discrete) Windows 11, Linux (tpm2-tools) Ongoing (TPM 2.0+)
2025 🎮 NVIDIA Blackwell (RTX 5090) Windows 11, Linux (CUDA 12.x) CUDA 12.x: 2025 (ongoing)

Note on scope: AMD processors (Ryzen, EPYC, 2017+) and AMD Radeon GPUs are not included in this table. They follow similar OS support timelines to Intel. See AMD Product Support for AMD-specific details.

Key Takeaways for Your Computer

🔹 CPU (Processor) Evolution:

  • 2007-2010: Basic dual-core processors (good for basic tasks)
  • 2015-2020: Multi-core processors (better for multitasking)
  • 2020-2025: Advanced processors (required for Windows 11, excellent for all tasks)

🎮 GPU (Graphics) Development:

  • Early GPUs focused mainly on gaming and graphics
  • Modern GPUs also handle AI, video editing, and complex calculations
  • CUDA support enables GPU acceleration for many applications

🔒 TPM (Security) Requirements:

  • TPM 1.2 (2007-2015): Optional security feature
  • TPM 2.0 (2015+): Recommended for Windows 10
  • TPM 2.0 (2020+): Required for Windows 11 (mandated from October 2021)

⚠️ Important Note: If your computer was made before 2018, it may not support Windows 11 due to TPM 2.0 requirements. This is where Linux can be a great alternative to keep older computers running safely and efficiently. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025 — upgrade planning is now urgent.

Note: CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) is a parallel computing platform and programming model developed by NVIDIA. It enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of the GPU for general purpose (CPU) processing.

† HP-UX 11i v3 on Itanium reached end of support on December 31, 2025. Organizations still running HP-UX should have completed migration planning by this date.

Manufacturer & OS Support Lifetime Links