The packaging for the Intel Core i9-13900K processor has leaked, and while the spilled photo shows it has the same theme as the existing 12900K – including this waffle – there are some minor but nonetheless interesting changes.
The box for the Core i9-13900K was posted on Twitter by the well-known leaker HXL, who got it from the closed WeChat group, as VideoCardz (opens in a new tab) points out (and of course, as always, be skeptical whether it is real or not).
i9k （13th） Packaging Source: WeChat pic.twitter.com/ffQIf2KSZ1September 23, 2022
As you can see, there are some notable changes here, and while Intel continues to put the CPU in a fancy imitation silicon wafer, this time instead of gold, it’s silver in color.
Moreover, the box itself is much thinner than the one that hosts the current generation Alder Lake flagship, although otherwise the design remains fairly similar.
Analysis: The leaks from Raptor Lake are definitely gaining momentum
What’s, of course, the most interesting here is the fact that a glance at the Raptor Lake flagship box indicates that perhaps Intel’s next-gen chips aren’t too far from launch. Especially since we just saw the Core i9-13900K in PassMark test leaks, so the leak around these 13th-gen CPUs seems to be gaining momentum.
Rumor has it that Raptor Lake processors will be launched next week, possibly on September 27, but silicon will not go on sale until October. These leaks, which are starting to show up more and more frequently, are a promising indication that we may be seeing these processors earlier in October, not later.
As for the packaging itself, the switch from gold waffle to silver seems like a strange choice for Intel, suggesting some sort of degradation in quality, at least subliminal. After all, you get a silver medal for second place and a gold medal for first place. It’s good to see a slimmer box when it comes to keeping things a bit more environmentally friendly; although that said, the extra waffle wrapping is rather unnecessary and not quite as green in this regard.
We get the feeling that this waffle trick has its final installment here, and it would make sense for Intel to completely redesign the box for the next generation of processors in 2023, which is Meteor Lake (as it will be a big change with a drop to 7nm, eventually).