qubes-doc/user/hardware/system-requirements.rst

===================
System requirements
===================


.. warning::
      Notice: The system requirements on this page are necessary, but not
      sufficient, for Qubes compatibility at a minimal or recommended
      level. In other words, just because a computer satisfies these
      requirements doesn’t mean that Qubes will successfully install and
      run on it. We strongly recommend consulting the resources below when
      selecting hardware for Qubes.


Minimum
-------


- **CPU:** 64-bit Intel or AMD processor (also known as ``x86_64``,
  ``x64``, and ``AMD64``)

  - `Intel VT-x <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel_virtualization_.28VT-x.29>`__
    with
    `EPT <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation#Extended_Page_Tables>`__
    or
    `AMD-V <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#AMD_virtualization_.28AMD-V.29>`__
    with
    `RVI <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation#Rapid_Virtualization_Indexing>`__

  - `Intel VT-d <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel-VT-d>`__
    or `AMD-Vi (also known as AMD IOMMU) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#I.2FO_MMU_virtualization_.28AMD-Vi_and_Intel_VT-d.29>`__



- **Memory:** 6 GB RAM

- **Storage:** 32 GB free space



Recommended
-----------


- **CPU:** 64-bit Intel or AMD processor (also known as ``x86_64``,
  ``x64``, and ``AMD64``)

  - `Intel VT-x <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel_virtualization_.28VT-x.29>`__
    with
    `EPT <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation#Extended_Page_Tables>`__
    or
    `AMD-V <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#AMD_virtualization_.28AMD-V.29>`__
    with
    `RVI <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation#Rapid_Virtualization_Indexing>`__

  - `Intel VT-d <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel-VT-d>`__
    or `AMD-Vi (also known as AMD IOMMU) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#I.2FO_MMU_virtualization_.28AMD-Vi_and_Intel_VT-d.29>`__



- **Memory:** 16 GB RAM

- **Storage:** 128 GB free space

  - High-speed solid-state drive strongly recommended



- **Graphics:** Intel integrated graphics processor (IGP) strongly
  recommended

  - Nvidia GPUs may require significant
    `troubleshooting <https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/18987>`__

  - AMD GPUs have not been formally tested, but Radeons (especially
    RX580 and earlier) generally work well



- **Peripherals:** A non-USB keyboard or multiple USB controllers

- **TPM:** Trusted Platform Module (TPM) with proper BIOS support
  (required for :doc:`Anti Evil Maid </user/security-in-qubes/anti-evil-maid>`)



Qubes-certified hardware
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


The following are *required* for :doc:`Qubes-certified hardware devices </user/hardware/certified-hardware>` but *merely recommended* for
*non-certified* hardware (see the :ref:`hardware certification requirements <user/hardware/certified-hardware:hardware certification requirements>`
for details).

- Open-source boot firmware (e.g.,
  `coreboot <https://www.coreboot.org/>`__)

- Hardware switches for all built-in USB-connected microphones (if any)

- Either support for non-USB input devices (e.g., via PS/2, which most
  laptops already use internally) or a separate USB controller only for
  input devices



Choosing Hardware
-----------------


We recommend consulting these resources when selecting hardware for
Qubes OS:

- :doc:`Certified hardware </user/hardware/certified-hardware>` — Qubes developer
  certified, officially recommended

- `Community-recommended hardware <https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/5560>`__ — list curated and
  maintained by the community, unofficially recommended

- :doc:`Hardware compatibility list (HCL) </user/hardware/hcl>` — community test
  results, neither recommended nor disrecommended



Important Notes
---------------


- **Installing Qubes in a virtual machine is not recommended, as it uses its own bare-metal hypervisor (Xen).**

- Qubes **can** be installed on many systems that do not meet the
  recommended requirements. Such systems will still offer significant
  security improvements over traditional operating systems, since
  things like GUI isolation and kernel protection do not require
  special hardware.

- Qubes **can** be installed on a USB flash drive or external disk, and
  testing has shown that this works very well. A fast USB 3.0 flash
  drive is recommended for this. (As a reminder, its capacity must be
  at least 32 GiB.) Simply plug the flash drive into the computer
  before booting into the Qubes installer from a separate installation
  medium, choose the flash drive as the target installation disk, and
  proceed with the installation normally. After Qubes has been
  installed on the flash drive, it can then be plugged into other
  computers in order to boot into Qubes. In addition to the convenience
  of having a portable copy of Qubes, this allows users to test for
  hardware compatibility on multiple machines (e.g., at a
  brick-and-mortar computer store) before deciding on which computer to
  purchase. (See :ref:`generating and submitting HCL reports <user/hardware/how-to-use-the-hcl:generating and submitting new reports>`
  for advice on hardware compatibility testing.) Remember to change the
  devices assigned to your NetVM and USB VM if you move between
  different machines.

- You can check whether an Intel processor has VT-x and VT-d on
  `ark.intel.com <https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark.html#@Processors>`__.