Intel started using a hybrid architecture, with "Performance cores" (P-cores, big cores) and "Efficiency cores" (E-cores, little cores), like what ARM calls big.LITTLE, since Alder Lake (12th gen Intel Core, 2021), in both desktop and laptop CPUs. It received limited support in Windows 10 and full support in Windows 11 (source). This effectively means a cut-off for Windows 8.1 and older, as they will not be running optimally. The last non-hybrid CPUs from Intel are therefore 11th gen Intel Core, the best of which is i9-11900K. There are also the Cascade Lake-X HEDT CPUs, the best of which (i9-10980XE) is more powerful than i9-11900K.
AMD followed suit later. The first processor from AMD to use a hybrid architecture (with "Zen 4c" little cores) is a laptop APU, Ryzen 3 7440U, released on 2023/05/03. Ryzen 5 8500G, a desktop APU, followed suit on 2024/01/31. However, top-tier Zen 4 processors didn't use Zen 4c cores and kept "big core only" designs. The Zen 5 generation is similar: Granite Ridge (desktop, best: 9950X3D), Strix Halo (laptop, best: Ryzen AI MAX+ 395), Fire Range (laptop, best: 9955HX3D) kept "big core only" designs, while Strix Point (laptop, best: Ryzen AI 9 HX 375) processors all have Zen 5c cores.
To get better performance on hybrid architecture processors on Windows 10, set "Hetero Policy" to 3 and "Hetero Thread Policy" to AllProcessors, as documented in this blog post.
PhysXInfo.com (archived, website died no later than November 2020)
7.11.13 (probably the last 7.x version), 8.04.25 (last version with a digital signature by AGEIA instead of Nvidia), 8.09.04 (last version with PPU support)
GPU-based PhysX is supported since the GeForce 8xxx series (Source: Overclock.net).
PPU-based PhysX is no longer supported since a certain version of PhysX System Software; according to release notes of PhysX System Software 9.11.1111, 8.09.04 supports PPU-based PhysX (the release notes doesn't say that it's the last version, but it probably is). There's a guide to restore support by using files from older versions of the PhysX System Software.
Due to missing DLLs, the earliest PhysX games like Switchball will not run at all if only the latest version of PhysX System Software is installed; 9.13.0604 Legacy System Software (or older) is required.
According to PCGamingWiki, 9.13.0604 doesn't include AGEIA PhysX Engine v2.5.2, but 8.09.04 does; placing the engine files extracted from 8.09.04 (also downloadable on PCGamingWiki) is required for games that use AGEIA PhysX Engine v2.5.2.
VOGONS Vintage Driver Library has a mod for 9.09.30 that restores PPU support.
In the RTX 50 series of GPUs from Nvidia, support for running 32bit CUDA code - which includes 32bit PhysX - was initially removed. A thread on ResetEra has details. It seems that games that use PhysX may use the GPU or PPU acceleration. Only games that use GPU acceleration is affected. In driver version 591.44, released on 2025/12/04, "custom support for GeForce gamers’ most played PhysX-accelerated games" is added. The wording implies that this is not a general solution applicable to all 32-bit PhysX games. Applicable games are:
Sources: Nvidia, The Verge, Overclock3D, PCGamer
CSM (compatiblity support module) is a UEFI component that enables "legacy boot" (MBR/"BIOS" boot before UEFI was a thing). It also allows legacy Option ROMs to be loaded even in UEFI boot. Windows Vista and 7 require CSM for UEFI boot, while Windows 8 and up supports UEFI Class 3 (i.e. pure UEFI without CSM). There are workarounds to run Windows Vista and 7 on UEFI Class 3 PCs; see the linked pages for details.
CSMWrap is a WIP project that effectively adds CSM to UEFI Class 3 PCs, using the open source SeaBIOS.
DUET does the reverse, allowing EFI OSes to boot in a legacy boot environment. It is originally intended for developers, so it's not user-friendly. Instead, it's usually used via Clover or OpenCore, which are bootloaders for Hackintoshes, and come with DUET.
Intel chipsets since the 500 series, as well as the corresponding CPU generation - 11th gen (Rocket Lake), removed the legacy Option ROM for the integrated GPU, requiring a discrete GPU to use CSM. The last Intel chipset and CPU combination to support CSM with the integrated GPU is the 400 series chipset and 10th gen (Comet Lake) CPUs. (source: Asus support)
X299, Intel's last HEDT platform, still supports CSM. There is no integrated GPU on any supported processors, so it's not a concern for CSM.
Intel chipsets since the 800 series (Arrow Lake, 15th gen Intel Core CPUs) removed CSM entirely. (source: MSFN thread)
The above information is for desktop computers. I haven't been able to find any information about laptops.
AM5, the current desktop platform from AMD as of July 2025, still supports CSM. However, like 11th~14th gen Intel platforms, the integrated GPU is not supported; it would simply not work when booted with CSM. (source)
It's predicted that the next desktop platform from AMD will remove CSM, as the RX 9000 GPUs from AMD only support UEFI. (source)
The above information is for desktop computers. The only information I can find about laptops, is that FA506IU, a laptop from 2020, has no CSM. (source)
While SSE2 is only required out of the box since Windows 8, updates for XP and 7 started to require SSE2 as well since 2018-08 and 2018-03 respectively. I suspect that Vista updates also started to require SSE2 in some point in 2018, although I can't find any information. Page on Legacy Update
The change in Win7 updates is documented on Wikipedia, but I only found out about XP in a thread about browsers for XP. I suppose, since Win7 is still had extended support in 2018 while XP and Vista didn't, the situation of XP and Vista escaped mainstream attention.
SSE2 is supported since Pentium 4 and Athlon 64 processors.
A VOGONS thread suggests that some Embedded/POSReady 2009 updates even added the requirement of SSE support, though details are unclear.
Despite being a newer microarchitecture, Pentium 4 Willamette performs worse and uses more power than a Pentium III Tualatin with the same clock speed. Also, Pentium 4 motherboards with Intel chipsets only work with pricy RDRAM. The Tualatin-Willamette era coincides with the end of Windows 9x hardware support.
More info: The Tualatin Story
Near the end of the Windows 9x era, AGP started to be phased out and replaced by PCIe. Some Nvidia PCIe cards released during the transition period actually use an AGP-PCIe adapter internally, such as 6600 GT.
AGP is supported since Windows 95 OSR 2.1 (source 1, source 2), but only 2x (source); faster cards will be forced into PCI transfer mode.
According to a user report, support for AGP is removed in Windows 10 1607. There doesn't seem to be an official statement from Microsoft about this.
AGP support was added into Windows NT since NT 4.0 SP3, and was available for NT 3.51 as well with the Q174567 hotfix. Source: vbemp home page
However, according to a VOGONS thread, "An AGP graphics card will appear as a normal PCI device to AGP-unaware OSes." Maybe NT 3.51 and NT 4.0 pre-SP3 were "semi-AGP-aware"? NT 3.1 and 3.5 were also said to work fine with vbemp without any fixes.
The best AGP graphics card was the Radeon HD 3850 or 4670. more info
The best AGP graphics card from NVIDIA was the GeForce 7950 GT.
ISA was killed by Microsoft in the "PC 2001" standard, which forbid using ISA slots in computers. After that, there are still industrial motherboards that feature ISA slots, but chipsets newer than Intel 8xx series don't support DMA and thus are useless for sound cards, which is "the primary reason for wanting an ISA slot".
Last motherboards with full ISA support
dISAppointment (GitHub, VOGONS thread, Hackster article, Hackaday article) is an adapter that plugs into the TPM slot in modern motherboards to give an ISA slot.