Sunday, May 31st 2020
Intel Discontinues Dodecahedron Retail Packaging for Core i9-9900K
Intel is discontinuing the special dodecahedron LDPE retail packaging for its previous-generation flagship desktop processor, the Core i9-9900K. The processor itself is still an active SKU, but its retail packaging will likely now revert to a more conventional-looking paperboard cuboid package, resembling that of the Core i9-9900KF. There is no mention of any change to the "limited edition" Core i9-9900KS. The product change notification (PCN) may have been triggered by the i9-9900K getting succeeded by the 10-core i9-10900K processor that ships in a simpler (though still premium-looking) hard paperboard package with a large front-face window; and the fact that the dodecahedron LDPE package presented logistics problems for distributors, as crates of these processors could pack fewer units than with smaller cuboid boxes, and needed additional styrofoam cushioning to prevent transit damage.
Sources:
Dylan J Martin (Twitter), Tom's Hardware
18 Comments on Intel Discontinues Dodecahedron Retail Packaging for Core i9-9900K
The box is hella cool.
I've built precisely 32 threadripper machines (four stacks of eight) and the ludicrious amount of waste packaging generated by the premium X399 boards and Threadripper boxes made me shed a tear for the environment. It was all so utterly wasteful and outside of collector's editions there's no goddamn point in any of it.