Intel i5-6600 series processors are not compatible with Windows 11 operating system. We look at the details of the processor and options available for systems built on i5-6600 processors.
The information in this document is suitable for:
- Intel i5-6600 series
- Intel i5-6600T series
- Intel i5-6600K series
About Intel i5-6600 processors
Intel i5-6600 series processors belong to the 6th generation of Intel i5 family of processors. All these processors have been discontinued and are not being currently manufactured by Intel.
Intel i5-6600 series processors belong to the Skylake family of processors. These processors were first released in Q3 of 2015. So, it has been nearly 10 years since the initial launch of the i5-6600 series processors.
Intel i5-6600 compatibility with Windows 11
Intel i5-6600 series processors are not compatible with the Windows 11 operating system. You can refer Microsoft’s document or list of processors compatible with Windows 11. You will notice that the Intel i5-8200 series processors were the first amongst the i5 family of core processors that supported Windows 11.
So, all i5 processors below Intel i5-8200 series are incompatible with Windows 11. This would include Intel i5-6600, i5-6600T and i5-6600K.
For Intel i5-6600 systems running on Windows 10, time is running out. Windows 10 will become end of life on 14 October 2025.
Quick Updates
There are a couple of updates about Windows 10 operating system.
Windows 10 Extended Security Updates are free for retail consumers in Europe, except for people in Switzerland and United Kingdom. This offer is for the period between October 2025 to October 2026. That is a year’s worth ESU for Windows 10 are being offered for free. For people outside Europe, you could get 1 year of free access to Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 by encashing Microsoft reward points or backing up your computer’s settings to OneDrive. Detailed instructions can be read here.
- In less than 4 weeks from now, Windows 10 support will cease to be offered, unless you have enrolled in the extended security update subscription.
- Statcounter’s August end study confirms that 45 percent of all Windows operating system based computers continue to use Windows 10 operating system.
- Microsoft has started rolling out notifications on the affected Windows 10 systems about the impending End of life status of the operating system in October 2025.
- An interesting development is taking shape in the United States. A Californian resident has sued Microsoft for imposing an End-of-life status on Windows 10 in October 2025. Nearly 43 percent of all Windows desktops in the world are still using Windows 10 operating systems. You can read in detail about the lawsuit and how it may impact Windows 10 users in the next few weeks.
As of first weeek of September 2025, nearly 45 percent of all Windows operating systems in the world continue to use Windows 10. That means we are looking at a potential issue of a massive number of Windows computers going out of security coverage in October 2025.
This does throw a lot of risk for unprotected computers to be used by the threat actors for various cyber attacks.
For computers running on Windows 10, here are a few quick updates about the latest situation.
- At the end of August 2025, 45 percent of all Windows desktops continue to run on Windows 10. These systems will sunset into the end of life status in less than 8 weeks from now.
- A Californian man has sued Microsoft for retiring Windows 10 in October 2025. You can read about the lawsuit here. The Court is yet to hear and pass an order on this lawsuit. We will keep you posted.
- Nearly 250 million Windows 10 computers will become end of life in October 2025. WIthout access to security updates, these computers are highly likely to be exploited by threat actors in launching cyberattacks.
Will Windows 10 computer stop working after October 2025?
We assume you have an Intel i5-6600 based computer running on Windows 10 operating system. Windows 10 becomes end of life on 14 October 2025. So, does this mean that your computer will stop working after October 2025?
No, not really. Your Windows 10 computer will continue to run after 14 October 2025. However, your computer will no longer have access to security updates from Microsoft.
This would expose your computer to security vulnerabilities reported for Windows 10 after 14 October 2025. There is strong chance that your Windows 10 computer may be exploited or targeted by threat actors and hackers to organize information theft and even cyber attacks.
How to run Windows 10 after October 2025?
I5-6600 series processors cannot support Windows 11. And Windows 10 goes end of life on 14 October 2025. So, is there a way to continue running Windows 10 after October 2025?
Well, you could enroll in a paid subscription program for Extended Security Updates for Windows 10. The ESU program for Windows 10 allows access to extended security updates for Windows 10.
Extended security updates are released every month under the ‘Patch Tuesday’ project of Microsoft on 2nd Tuesday of every month. The ESU program charges you a fee to offer Extended Security Updates specific to Windows 10 operating system.
The fee for the ESU program for Windows 10 has been announced by Microsoft. You will need to pay $30 for a user license for retail customers and $61 for a business user.
Therefore, you may want to consider or weigh the costs of Windows 10 Extended Security Updates. The ESU or Extended Security Updates can be bought for a period between 1 to 3 years. If you buy Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 for 3 years, you will continue to receive security updates for Windows 10 until October 2028.
Should I install Windows 11 on unsupported processor?
Do we recommend installing Windows 11 on i5-6600 series processors. We have good reasons to not recommend installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. The main causes to discourage installing Windows 11 on unsupported processors include:
- Your computer may malfunction due to inherent software and hardware incompatibilities
- Access to security updates for Windows 11 is not guaranteed.
Therefore, we do not suggest installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware or processor.
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