The packaging for Intel’s newly announced gaming CPU lineup has been leaked, revealing that the upcoming Core i9-285K will arrive in a standard socket, mirroring the company’s previous flagship offerings. Intel likely disregards the importance of packaging as a negligible aspect when no cooler is included, yet for hardware enthusiasts, Intel recognizes the value of thoughtful packaging, suggesting that its new chips are designed to shine in unboxing videos.
Intel’s highly-anticipated Arrow Lake gaming CPU lineup is slated for a release in October 2024, with the company aiming to take on the latest AMD Zen 5 chips in what promises to be an intense showdown for top gaming performance. If Intel successfully optimizes the efficiency of its 15th-generation Core series for a competitive price point, while avoiding the stability issues that plagued its 14th-gen Raptor Lake CPUs, it may be onto a winner, as the company seems to be betting on the attractive packaging enticing some gamers to its flagship chip.
In stark contrast to their predecessors, the latest Intel packaging designs are uniformly dark, eschewing the traditional blue and white color scheme that once defined their aesthetic. Let’s start with the Core i9-285K field, which has reportedly been leaked by Videocardz. This enigmatic bundle holds within its folds a second, peculiarly positioned silver field, adding an air of mystique to its already intriguing nature. Despite appearances, there won’t be anything more to behold within the silver field when viewed from this angle; however, it has the potential to be quite elaborate. Intel has consistently surprised enthusiasts with innovative packaging designs for its high-performance CPUs. The Core i9 12900K and 13900K feature silver wafer-like containers, a departure from the dodecahedron-shaped box that housed the Core i9 9900K, while the Core i9 11900K arrived in an attractively angled, translucent blue enclosure.
The field leak offers a sign of the language used to distinguish between different generations of CPUs, now that phrases like “14th-gen” are no longer being utilized. The label clearly displays ‘unlocked’ on the bottom, indicating an unlocked multiplier for overclocking purposes, and beneath this, it states “Collection 2.”
Intel will utilize “Collection 2” as a unifying identifier for its Core Extremely 200 processors, building upon the successful rollout of Core Extremely 100 Meteor Lake CPUs in laptops this year, which served as a precursor to this new wave of processing power.
The “Collection 2” identifier appears to be compatible with Core i7 and Core i5 CPU enclosures, as revealed by renowned tech leaker momomo_us through a recent publication on X.
These Core i7 and Core i5 processors do not come with elaborate packaging featuring an inner foam insert, and their slim design suggests they will not be bundled with a CPU cooler, in line with the tradition established by Intel’s Core series CPUs over several years.
The packages are sleek black containers featuring prominent branding from Intel’s new Core i9 series, accentuated by subtle blue dots at the top and right edges of the front face.
While unconfirmed intel suggests otherwise, it’s essential to acknowledge that no official launch has taken place for these field renderings, which may deviate from the final design upon its formal unveiling.
Stay up-to-date on the latest Intel Arrow Lake CPU developments by visiting our dedicated page, where you’ll find comprehensive information, including specifications and performance expectations.
