You can bite the bullet and update to Win11, whether your hardware matches specs or not. You can move to Linux, which is an increasingly viable solution for gaming because of the work that Steam's done with their Steam OS. While it's not been released yet -- it *may* be before Win10's death -- their work can be added to plain vanilla Linux, and there are Linux distros with it already built in. Linux itself is more stable / usable than Windows nowadays, and lots of Windows software can be made to work, usually with the WINE compatibility layer or a VM running Windows, but you'll have to try and get by with web apps for many [most?] big name brands of software. Then again, if enough people move to Linux towards the end of this year, that might change. When Win7 reached EOL Microsoft provided biz with 3 years of paid updates, and hacks were available to ensure that consumers could get them too. It's likely that things will be the same for Win10. Microsoft has released Extended Service & IoT versions of Win10 that will receive updates for a few more years. You can find those online. 0Patch plans a few more years of Win10 support. With patches for vulnerabilities as they're discovered, including ones that Microsoft declined to fix, there are free & paid options. 0Patch doesn't change or update Windows files on disk, but when they're loaded into RAM before they're actually used. That makes trying out 0Patch before the October deadline hits pretty much risk free. And while it's less likely with the new US gov, it's possible Microsoft will give in the way they did with XP, and extend Win10's lifetime. While I still expect pressure from the EU, I doubt the US will do anything, and big tech is already pressuring / pleading with the new gov to help them ignore any & all EU regulations.
Windows 10 vs. Windows Marketing Version, 11
As Win10 approaches it's EOL, I think it's worth asking: "Why?" To answer that I'll start with a brief history lesson... you used to have to pay for Windows, including upgrades to a new version. Microsoft had a profitable retail operation, with Windows selling for $100+, and they aggressively closed down hacks, cracks, piracy, and the now very common sales of individual keys from volume licenses. While Win8 was current however, Microsoft realized that they had lost the war to Android for the most popular, most used OS. And so we got Win10, designed from the start to be as much like Android as technically possible within the constraints of reusing decades of old Windows code. Rather than make money from retail, they'd rely on OEM sales to the companies that make laptops & PCs, on software sales in their new Store, and as possible from data mining and advertising. To balance the books they'd get rid of about half of the employees developing Windows, cut features, and streamline development. Intending to maintain this new Windows biz model, they declared that there would never be a Win11, until of course there was.
Now, other than the [Still Unfinished!] cosmetic changes, Win11 brought just one important thing to the table -- hardware requirements meant to stimulate new PC/laptop sales, or in plain English, Marketing. Remember, the companies making those PCs & laptops are the ones paying Microsoft for Windows, so the more they sell, the more money Microsoft gets. What about the *new* features currently in Win11? Most all of them could have been added to Win10, the same way they've been added to Win11, via updates. Initially the only thing Win11 added to what Win10 already offered was new cosmetics and hardware requirements. I put stuff like the new Explorer context menu under cosmetics, since the old Explorer GUI is still there, enabled with a registry edit. Otherwise Microsoft has just doubled down on increasing the data mining and advertising built into the OS.
Since those Win11 hardware requirements are generally arbitrary, there's little preventing anyone from using Win11 on hardware that's not up to Microsoft specs. It's slightly more work -- you download the free Rufus app, download an ISO from Microsoft, have Rufus put that ISO on a USB stick, and run setup. There is a possibility that sometime in the future Microsoft ***may*** actually add something to Windows to make one or more of those hardware requirements actually legit, but it's doubtful based on the logic that Microsoft wants to invest in Windows development as little as possible, since that costs money, and they're busy spending every spare dime on AI. The promise that AI will someday be profitable -- what biz doesn't want to get rid of employees [they're messy & expensive] -- drives increases in stock prices, which means more money for Microsoft execs.
You can see a Win10 vs Win11 comparison *from Microsoft* if interested, and the 2nd link is Microsoft's list of hardware requirements:
microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/compare-windows-11-home-vs-pro-versions
microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications
Why I feel that they are all rather arbitrary requirements...
1) Must be running Win10 to upgrade, But, you can fresh install with or without any OS.
2) "1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)." 64-bit BIOS is required since there is no 32-bit version of Win11, and so no way to get Windows to boot otherwise [yes, there are 64-bit CPUs using 32-bit BIOS -- it was cheaper once upon a time]. AFAIK there are no CPUs in use currently that are not running 1GHz+ with 2 or more cores. Those CPUs on the approved list have an added feature that reduces the performance hit when running VBS -- nothing else -- and since most home users, & ALL gamers should have VBS off, immaterial. VBS on non-approved CPUs works, same as it always has in Win10, but your PC/laptop will be slower. Note: there are some really, REALLY old [ancient] CPUs that cannot run the code in Win11.
3) 4GB RAM. IMHO this is totally arbitrary. Win11 will run on 2GB, I think most people nowadays prefer 16GB, which I believe is the most common, while gamers & those with higher requirements. and who can afford it, are moving from 32GB to 64GB.
4) 64GB storage. Towards the bottom of the page Microsoft admits this is a guesstimate. You can run, & update Win11 with 32GB, as long as you cleanup after every update and install software to another drive. Installed as a VM on a dynamically expanding VHD, meaning the Virtual Hard Disk can be shrunk once you perform after-update cleanup, Win11 takes up ~14GB. That said, I imagine very, Very few PCs & laptops will not meet this requirement.
5) Secure Boot capable UEFI BIOS. UEFI means the BIOS runs a minimal OS that may increase the number of baseline features, likely makes writing & updating the BIOS code easier, since it's based on AMD or Intel templates, and like any OS is hackable. UEFI BIOS have been around since Win7, while many [most?] BIOS also have a CSM or legacy mode mimicking a pre-UEFI BIOS. Windows itself doesn't care -- at the end of the boot process something runs an executable file in the Windows folder that starts Windows. Win11 & Win11 setup can create/setup/work with a legacy -- non-UEFI -- boot loader. If you have the option in the BIOS settings, sticking with UEFI and turning off CSM may give you some good options for booting, e.g., Fast Boot. That said, Windows EFI bootloader has been a problem child since its debut in Win7. It's complicated, has its own section in the registry, the few parts that are documented aren't documented very well, and it can on occasion refuse to work properly. Secure Boot is a way for the BIOS to check the boot loader it's starting against a list of known good keys. Problem is that there are a whole bunch of keys that are no longer good/trusted. Another problem is that many manufacturers included a known test key in their BIOS, rather than deleting it after testing. Long story short, Secure Boot is good to have enabled, though you do not need it enabled to meet specs, but how much good it really does is debatable.
6) TPM 2.0. Very basically hardware key storage, it can be used with Windows Hello [fingerprint, face match etc.] for logging into Windows, it can be used with Secure Boot, it can be used with Credential Mgr. to for example store a software company like Adobe's anti piracy junk, and it's used with BitLocker if enabled. BitLocker is harder to use without a TPM, but BitLocker is more a corporate thing anyway... if you want/need full disk encryption you're better off with the open source VeraCrypt, as BitLocker's main advantage is that management can unlock a drive encrypted by an employee. Logging in with Windows Hello may also be effected without a TPM. Otherwise Win11 is fine without it, and its TPM support may be a bit dodgy -- if you check the TPM's status in Windows Security, 1/2 the time, or more, it will show it as not ready.
7) GPU [Graphics Processor] "Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver." Meh. If not met Windows will work and display -- some software may not.
8) Display "High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per color channel." Again, Meh.
9) "Windows 11 Pro for personal use and Windows 11 Home require internet connectivity and a Microsoft account during initial device setup." Helps Microsoft for advertising, data mining etc. You can ether skip the internet sign in using one of the hacks available during setup, or create & use a local account afterward.
