Windows 8.1

More beautiful, more flexible, more you. 
And very, very fast.

What's new

The Start screen

Everything you care about most is on the new Start screen. Tiles on the Start screen are connected to people, apps, folders, photos, or websites, and are alive with the latest info, so you're up to date at a glance.

Mouse, keyboard—and now touch

Windows 8 is perfect for PCs with only a mouse and keyboard, those with touchscreens, and those with both. Whatever kind of PC you have, you'll discover fast and fluid ways to switch between apps, move things around, and go smoothly from one place to another.

New PCs

There are amazing new PCs of all kinds, including sleek and lightweight tablets, convertibles, and laptops.

Apps from the Windows Store

Windows 8 comes with a new store for apps, the Windows Store. Open the Store right from your Start screen to browse and download apps for cooking, photos, sports, news, and a lot more—many of them free.

Your Windows, everywhere

Sign in with your Microsoft account to any of your PCs running Windows 8 and you'll immediately see your own background, display preferences, and settings.

The familiar made better

The desktop

The desktop that you're used to—with its taskbar, folders, and icons—is still here and better than ever, with a new taskbar and streamlined file management.

Security

Stay up to date and more secure with Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, and Windows Update.

Speed

Windows 8 starts up faster, switches between apps faster, and uses power more efficiently than Windows 7.

System requirements

Windows 8.1

If you want to run Windows 8.1 on your PC, here's what it takes:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info)

·         RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

·         Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

·         Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver