Intel has informed customers that it is adjusting the retail packaging for two 13th Generation Raptor Lake processors—the Core i9-13900K and Core i9-13900KS are popular choices for extreme gamers who demand the best from their CPUs, but did the presence of a premium protective shell also attract certain buyers who enjoy displaying silicon-related mantelpieces? Team Blue will be introducing a more sober looking boxed solution for the aforementioned SKUs - effective in universal and Chinese markets. Intel reasons that it wants to save on the volumetric storage of processors during the shipment process—the smaller box designs will result in a unit increase per pallet. By their estimation this redesign could quadruple the number of boxes in each shipping package - from the previous 324 to a new goal of around 1620.

The Core i9-13900K and Core i9-13900KS were shipped (until recently) in "Tier 4" boxes, but Intel's new cost and space saving drive has the two processors destined to sit in their "Tier 2" retail package which appears to be a standard folding paperboard carton (as seen containing Core i7 and lower end SKUs). The announcement included a set of preview renders, but actual boxed dimensions were not shared in the Product Change Notification (PCN) document. The new packaging regime looks smaller when compared to the older combination of a "premium silver tinted plastic wafer package" plus box sleeve. Team Blue will ultimately shave off a few bucks for themselves in the process, but there is no indication that these savings will be passed onto the end user. Tom's Hardware reckons that a late adjustment to retail packaging could foreshadow the arrival of a successor CPU range—Raptor Lake Refresh is speculated to form the next desktop lineup, since the future of Meteor Lake-S is alleged to be in a precarious state.