What release of Workstation supports Intel Core i7 975 CPU

[esmadja]

I want to upgrade to latest VM Ware but Docs seems to say that Core i7 975 is not supported.

VMware Knowledge Base

In addition, the following are supported:

Systems using Intel processors based on the 2010 “Westmere” micro-architecture (e.g. Xeon 5600, Xeon 3600, Core i7-970, Core i7-980, Core i7-990)

What is the last release that supported Core i7 975 and can I still buy it?

Thanks

[scott28tt]

Here’s the release notes and documentation library: VMware Workstation Pro Documentation

[Echeban]

Scott: I have the same problem, I cannot install vmware workstation 14, or 15 on a PC with i7'975, and win10 cannot upgrade to windows 1903 unless I remove vmware. What can I do?

[scott28tt]

If you had browsed through the host processor requirements from the VMware Workstation Pro Documentation you'll have seen that WS14 and WS15 are not supported on the i7-975, but that WS12 is supported.

On that basis, I would say your options are either to use WS12 or update your hardware.

[Echeban]

Scott: you incorrectly assume that I did not check the documentation, but I did. Perhaps the problem is that the documentation is not clear enough or easy enough for and average consumer to find the answer.

[Mits2020]

Echeban I share that viewpoint too, the CPU Requirements description is not optimal, this is why I posted some suggestions in Re: Unable to start virtual machine after upgrade to VMWARE Workstation Pro 15.5.5

[scott28tt]

I made that assumption based merely on me finding the answer to the question within.

This is the page for WS15: Processor Requirements for Host Systems​

There's an equivalent for WS14 and WS12 - the previous link I posted took me to all of those pages.

A Google search for "vmware workstation processor requirements" also took me to the WS15 page.

[Echeban]

Problem solved. I had my i7-975/3.33Ghz, w/24GB mem, 500 Gb SSD, BIOS set to AHCI, giving me an AS-SSD score of 590!!!; not about to ditch this hardware. But running WIN10 1804 complained all the time about upgrading to WIN 1903. When I try to upgrade, it tells me I have to uninstall VMWare Workstation 12. But WM 14 and 15 will not run on my system because my beloved i7-975 is "obsolete." To tell you the truth, this system was running on an i7-920, but with $42 I bought an "obsolete" i7-975 CPU and installed in like 15 min, no hassle whatsoever, and the machine is a beast. Not about to ditch this hardware. I can't ditch VM for Oracle VB, believe me I would, but I have a huge web app development on this VM, on a project that started in 2010, using a bunch of software including VS, ASP, C#, FOTRAN, Introp Svcs, TFS, and who knows what else. No problem. I let Windows uninstall my VMware, did the upgrade to WIN10 1903, reinstalled WMWare, and I am working fine. I read that you must disable Windows virtualization. I never enabled it. It is disabled by default. Do you worry about speed? don't. All you need is an SSD, be sure the BIOS is set to AHCI, otherwise my AS-SSD score drops to 230, but even then, the score for a HDD is 18. LOL. I bet now windows wants to update to 1909. Would the same trick work?