As Intel is expected to provide full support only Windows 10, AMD has a different idea.
The company promises to provide drivers for Windows 7 for its upcoming Ryzen CPUs. This means that it’s likely that Windows 7 will be able to take advantage of all the new features integrated into Ryzen. With that said, full support for Windows 7 isn’t guaranteed. When developing a driver, companies must rely on the cooperation of the operating system vendor as well and Microsoft appears un-interested in supporting Windows 7. Microsoft will officially stop supporting Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. It isn’t clear how AMD is going to deal with graphics-equipped Ryzen SKUs.
This is likely a move to grab some extra market share from users and enterprises still clinging onto the aging OS due to compatibility issues or otherwise. Currently, neither Intel or Microsoft would provide full support for Windows 7 running on a Kaby Lake-based PC. Windows 7 would still install, of course, but it may run into glitches here and there. It also won’t be able to fully support new features like the updated HEVC driver for the integrated co-processors.
Source: ComputerBase
