Thursday, October 21st 2021

A Closer Look at the Intel Core i9-12900K Retail Package

Intel has had a little streak of quirky, over-the-top retail packages for its flagship desktop processors since the 9th Generation Core i9-9900K, which carries on into the 12th Gen with that of the Core i9-12900K. Overclocking.com posted a set of unboxing images. It's important to note here, that these are images of the retail i9-12900K, and not some special package sent to reviewers.

The package involves a hard paperboard hollow cube with two open sides. You undo a set of pull-tabs that are probably held together by factory seal, to pull out a pair of plastic stands holding what looks like a stack of silicon wafers in place. This decorative plastic canister is painted in gold-chrome and disperses colors like a fabricated wafer does. You open the two halves of this "wafer" to find your processor inside, with some Styrofoam cushioning. A separate compartment in the paperboard housing contains the documentation and a case-badge.
If past trends are anything to go by, this package is likely exclusive to the i9-12900K. The i9-12900KF, which lacks an iGPU, comes in a much simpler thin paperboard box that looks similar to the packages of the i7-12700K, or i5-12600K. The Core i9-12900 (non-K) comes in a slightly bigger box, which contains one of Intel's new-generation boxed coolers. The Core i9-12900K reportedly opens up to pre-orders on October 27, with general availability slated for November 4.
Source: Overclocking.com
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50 Comments on A Closer Look at the Intel Core i9-12900K Retail Package

#26
Tommo1002
People that saying INTEL keep making stupid things but still ended up buying them..
Posted on Reply
#27
timta2
I can easily imagine how different the comments would be if this were an AMD product.
Posted on Reply
#28
Zubasa
timta2I can easily imagine how different the comments would be if this were an AMD product.
Nope, my Threadripper box is still there taking up way more shelf space than I like.
But they stop doing it after Zen2 TR.
Meanwhile Intel was still making acrylic footballs with 9900k, then the box stepped on by the courier for 11900k and now this.

Posted on Reply
#29
mb194dc
People care about the retail package? Benchmarks of real world usage under controlled conditions are what we want....
Posted on Reply
#30
Valantar
It sure doesn't help that that "wafer" looks cheap and tacky AF. The leaked pics didn't show the cheap 3D detailing, so it looked much better in those. Makes me wonder why they went this route, as this... just doesn't look good.
Posted on Reply
#31
odaniel
MysteoaIt would have been more cool if you actually get a piece of a fail silicon wafer in the box instead of this tacky plastic.
That would be an awesome collectors item!
Posted on Reply
#32
DeathtoGnomes
TheLostSwedeI don't see where I said that AMD did a better job, but the plastic one was the Threadripper, not the regular consumer models.
I didnt say AMD did a better job, just comparing with the landfill comment.

I had thought early Ryzen were shipped in similar containers as TR. If not, I stand corrected.
Posted on Reply
#33
TheLostSwede
News Editor
DeathtoGnomesI didnt say AMD did a better job, just comparing with the landfill comment.

I had thought early Ryzen were shipped in similar containers as TR. If not, I stand corrected.
Nope, normal thin cardboard boxes.

Posted on Reply
#35
Franzen4Real
While I'm not on board with Intel's extravagant packaging full of plastics seemingly for the sake of just looking cool, I do have to say as a customer that received a half crushed Ryzen box (thankfully the side opposite of the cpu) that there is certainly a middle ground that could be found here. I will give Intel credit in that they have the cpu essentially 'double boxed' and could probably withstand even the most negligent of e-commerce warehouse employees, but I feel like a dressed up corrugated paper wafer could have served the same purpose.
Posted on Reply
#36
ThrashZone
Hi,
Yeah the box is a well known selling point :kookoo:
Posted on Reply
#37
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
With my job, we get real portions of silicon with our ASICS on it that don't pass yields when we tape out. lmao
Posted on Reply
#38
Tomorrow
TheLostSwedeGreat, more plastic that will head straight for a landfill...
You do know that Intel sells Tray versions in retail right?

Best way to avoid all this junk. Plus it's a bit cheaper.
Posted on Reply
#39
ThrashZone
Hi,
Tray are oem's no itel warranty like boxed.
Posted on Reply
#40
Tomorrow
ThrashZoneHi,
Tray are oem's no itel warranty like boxed.
They still have seller warranty and besides, when was the last time you had to RMA your CPU?
It has never happened to me once. It would have to be user error and boxed CPU warranty wont help you there anyway.
Posted on Reply
#41
ThrashZone
TomorrowThey still have seller warranty and besides, when was the last time you had to RMA your CPU?
It has never happened to me once. It would have to be user error and boxed CPU warranty wont help you there anyway.
Hi,
Last year 9940x crapped out
Seller warranty isn't worth anything in the USA unless you purchased it on top of the cpu cost
Micro center does this instore warranty stuff but they have doubled the price of it now it probably eat their ass lol
Posted on Reply
#42
Tomorrow
ThrashZoneHi,
Last year 9940x crapped out
Seller warranty isn't worth anything in the USA unless you purchased it on top of the cpu cost
Micro center does this instore warranty stuff but they have doubled the price of it now it probably eat their ass lol
Crapped out in what sense? Was it CPU or did the motherboard kill it with voltage?
I guess it's good that i live in the EU then.

But considering how rare CPU RMA's are compared to other components i would think that Intel and AMD replace nearly all those except for ones with extreme OC damage, lapped or replaced IHS etc. Not doing so would be bad PR and a lost customer.
Posted on Reply
#43
TheLostSwede
News Editor
TomorrowYou do know that Intel sells Tray versions in retail right?

Best way to avoid all this junk. Plus it's a bit cheaper.
Maybe where you live, but not everywhere and usually with vastly reduced warranty.
Posted on Reply
#44
Tomorrow
TheLostSwedeMaybe where you live, but not everywhere and usually with vastly reduced warranty.
Most of the world infact. And like i said warranty is a nonissue for CPU's. I mean if the CPU is genuine then Intel can process warranty based on serial number alone. Tho most for retailers it's proof of purcase that matters not if it was boxed or tray. I bought several bulk SSD's lately and there real issues can arise from the fact that firmware updates for some of those are not released publicly.
Posted on Reply
#45
Udyr
TomorrowMost of the world infact. And like i said warranty is a nonissue for CPU's. I mean if the CPU is genuine then Intel can process warranty based on serial number alone. Tho most for retailers it's proof of purcase that matters not if it was boxed or tray. I bought several bulk SSD's lately and there real issues can arise from the fact that firmware updates for some of those are not released publicly.
www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024255/processors.html

Just because a CPU rarely goes "bad" it doesn't mean it never does. A warranty is always needed for whatever crazy behavior the CPU may have at any stage of it's early life.
Posted on Reply
#46
TheLostSwede
News Editor
TomorrowMost of the world infact. And like i said warranty is a nonissue for CPU's. I mean if the CPU is genuine then Intel can process warranty based on serial number alone. Tho most for retailers it's proof of purcase that matters not if it was boxed or tray. I bought several bulk SSD's lately and there real issues can arise from the fact that firmware updates for some of those are not released publicly.
No, that's not a fact at all. There's no such thing as buying a tray CPU here, nor where I'm originally from. Warranty of a HUGE issue, as you get none on tray CPUs as an end consumer, as in zero warranty, as they're not intended for sale to consumers in their own. A boxed CPU has three years warranty on the other hand.
And just because you've never had a DOA CPU doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Posted on Reply
#47
Tomorrow
It's suprising that every time CPU warranty comes up there's always a guy or two who claim that they totally had CPU's die on them. When pressed for details they refuse to give any wich leads me to believe it was user/motherboard fault not CPU itself being DOA or "going bad"
In that case having a box and 3 years (thats not enough for a CPU imo) wont do you any good regardless.

The main problem is that neither Intel or AMD release their RMA statistics and there are no decent public sources like there is for storage (Backblaze).
That leaves me guessing based on my own experience and from what i've seen around the forums for the past ~15 years ive been active in the DIY space.
The only times i've seen people with genuine CPU issues has been either user error (voltage, physical damage) or errata (1st gen Ryzen had this if im not mistaken) where the CPU worked but was doing something wrong.

Im not by any means saying it does not happen. But compared to other components it must be miniscule amount. Sure i would like all consumer electronics to have minimum 5 year warranty anywhere regardless if they're bulk, oem or tray. As longer as the product itself is genuine and it's not user error it should be replaced.
But dont pretend like it's this big issue. And this comes from people who complain about a fancy box being wasteful. I mean what do you want? Tray versions exist and if you're so worried about a box (that is most likely made out of recyclable materials) you have the option to either buy tray, buy used or don't buy at all.
Posted on Reply
#48
ThrashZone
TomorrowIt's suprising that every time CPU warranty comes up there's always a guy or two who claim that they totally had CPU's die on them. When pressed for details they refuse to give any wich leads me to believe it was user/motherboard fault not CPU itself being DOA or "going bad"
In that case having a box and 3 years (thats not enough for a CPU imo) wont do you any good regardless.

The main problem is that neither Intel or AMD release their RMA statistics and there are no decent public sources like there is for storage (Backblaze).
That leaves me guessing based on my own experience and from what i've seen around the forums for the past ~15 years ive been active in the DIY space.
The only times i've seen people with genuine CPU issues has been either user error (voltage, physical damage) or errata (1st gen Ryzen had this if im not mistaken) where the CPU worked but was doing something wrong.

Im not by any means saying it does not happen. But compared to other components it must be miniscule amount. Sure i would like all consumer electronics to have minimum 5 year warranty anywhere regardless if they're bulk, oem or tray. As longer as the product itself is genuine and it's not user error it should be replaced.
But dont pretend like it's this big issue. And this comes from people who complain about a fancy box being wasteful. I mean what do you want? Tray versions exist and if you're so worried about a box (that is most likely made out of recyclable materials) you have the option to either buy tray, buy used or don't buy at all.
Hi,
I was just asked, When was the last time I had to rma a chip, which is off topic

Short story is, dead cpu it doesn't matter if it was design failure or user failure from oc as the cause "mine just died on start up one day no oc" 3 year intel warranty covers it as long as the chip is not damaged/ burns... on either top or bottom

I was fortunate to have another chip to test the mother board and it was fine and images showed no damage so standard rma approved.
This was over 1k.us chips so a tray sibling would be a large loss and I doubt very much cheaper.

I even got oc policy on my 10900k this time just for grins which Intel doesn't offer anymore.

Intel do put way too much thought into boxes lol
Posted on Reply
#49
trsttte
Nephilim666Give me a small, boring recycled and recyclable brown cardboard box instead of this plastic fantastic landfill kthx.
It's only for the landfill if you throw it that way, there's always the recycling bin or in a shelf as decoration.

But I do agree, these should be like limited edition for those who want to keep the box in a shelf as decoration or whatever, otherwise general release would be better on boring recycable brown cardboard as most buyers won't give shit
Posted on Reply
#50
R-T-B
ThrashZoneHi,
Yeah the box is a well known selling point :kookoo:
I asked my cat and she thinks these boxes suck. Not enough room, no pawholes, zero fort potential...
Posted on Reply
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