A Closer Look

Our Core i9-10850K sample came in a tray-only package. The retail packaging includes no heatsink, which means you'll have to spend more money on buying a cooling solution. The i9-10850K package design is also a simpler-looking paperboard box, unlike the i9-10900K that comes with a fancy hardboard box with acrylic cutouts.


The Core i9-10850K looks like any LGA1xxx processor released by Intel in the past decade. The processor is only compatible with Socket LGA1200 motherboards because the position of the round notches has been changed. It will not work with an older motherboard.


Luckily, Socket LGA1200 retains cooler compatibility with all older LGA115x-series sockets. This means you're going to be spoiled for choice when picking a cooler to go with this processor.