Intel has announced that it will exchange the Core i9-10900K's fancy retail packaging in favor of the standard, folding carton box. Basically, the Core i9-10900K's will soon share the same packaging as the Core i9-10850K. The change will come into effect starting February 28 and will affect both global and Chinese boxed SKUs.
It's not Intel's first time to the rodeo either. The chipmaker previously switched the Core i9-9900K's unique dodecahedron packaging to a more simple box to facilitate shipping and handling. In the case of the Core i9-10900K, the reason seems to be the same - to improve shipping efficiency. The change in packaging will help reduce the volumetric storage requirements for the Core i9-10900K. As a result, Intel can increase the number of units per pallet from 480 to 1,620, a whopping 237.2% increase.
Intel's 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S processors are slated to launch in March, meaning Comet Lake-S chips like the Core i9-10900K are on their way out. It makes sense that Intel would want to optimize its logistics to get as many Comet Lake-S processors out the door as possible to focus its efforts on delivering the new Rocket Lake-S parts to the market.
The revamped packaging should provide a slight cost reduction for Intel since the chipmaker no longer has to spend money on the more elaborate box, not to mention the money saved on shipping costs. In the end, the Core i9-10900K will basically ship in the same, boring cardboard box as the other Comet Lake-S Core i7 and Core i5 SKUs.
