The first motherboards to support Secure Boot were those released alongside Windows 8 in 2012, as Microsoft mandated Secure Boot compatibility for OEM systems to receive Windows 8 certification. While the exact "first" model is difficult to pinpoint due to overlapping releases, here’s what we know:
- Intel 7-Series (e.g., Z77) and AMD 900-Series Chipsets
- Early consumer motherboards with UEFI firmware (post-2011) began supporting Secure Boot to comply with Windows 8 requirements. Examples include:
- ASUS P8Z77-V (Intel Z77, 2012)
- Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 (AMD 990FX, 2012) (source).
- OEM Systems Leading the Shift
- Prebuilt PCs (e.g., Dell, HP) were among the first to enable Secure Boot by default, as they adhered to Microsoft’s Windows 8 certification rules (source 1)(source 2).
- UEFI Standardization
- Secure Boot became widespread with UEFI 2.3.1 (2011), which formalized the feature. Motherboards with this firmware revision or later (e.g., ASUS "Windows 8 Ready" models) included it (source 1), (source 2).
- Legacy BIOS vs. UEFI: Pre-2011 motherboards typically used legacy BIOS, which lacked Secure Boot. Transitional boards (e.g., some Intel 6-series) had partial UEFI support but often required firmware updates (source 1)(source 2.
For a deeper dive, see Microsoft’s Secure Boot documentation or threads discussing early UEFI adoption (source).
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