Intel Raptor Lake flagship CPU box spotted suggesting it s close to release TechRadar Skip to main content TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. Intel Raptor Lake flagship CPU box spotted suggesting it s close to release By Darren Allan published 24 September 2022 A somewhat different box for the Core i9-13900K, with two notable changes (Image credit: Panuwatccn / Shutterstock) Audio player loading… The packaging for Intel's Core i9-13900K processor has been leaked, and while the spilled photo shows that it follows the same theme as the existing 12900K – including that wafer – there are some slight, but nonetheless interesting, changes. The box for the Core i9-13900K was posted on Twitter by well-known leaker HXL, who got it from a closed WeChat group, as VideoCardz (opens in new tab) points out (and naturally, stay skeptical around whether this is genuine or not, as ever). i9k（13th） PackagingSource: WeChat pic.twitter.com/ffQIf2KSZ1September 23, 2022See more As you can see, there are some notable changes here, and while Intel has still put the processor in a fancy mock silicon wafer case, this time around, rather than gold, it's colored silver. Furthermore, the box itself is a lot thinner than the one which carries the current-gen Alder Lake flagship, although otherwise, the design remains pretty similar. Analysis Raptor Lake leaks are gathering momentum for sure What's most interesting here, of course, is the fact that getting a glimpse of the box of the Raptor Lake flagship indicates that maybe Intel's next-gen chips are not too far away from release now. Particularly as we just saw the Core i9-13900K in leaked PassMark benchmarks, so the spillage around these 13th-gen processors appears to be picking up momentum. Rumor has it that Raptor Lake CPUs will be launched next week, likely on September 27, but the silicon won't go on sale until October. These leaks starting to pop up more and more right now is a hopeful indication that we might just see these processors sooner in October, rather than later. As far as the packaging itself goes, changing from a gold wafer to silver seems an odd choice for Intel, suggesting something of a downgrade, at least subliminally. You get a silver medal for second place, after all, and gold for the top spot. It's good to see a slimmer box in terms of keeping things a bit more environmentally-friendly, as well; although that said, the additional wafer packaging is rather unnecessary, and not so ecologically sound in that respect. We've a feeling that the wafer gimmick is getting its last outing here, and it would make sense for Intel to do a complete box redesign for the next generation of processors in 2023, which will be Meteor Lake (as this will be a big change with the drop to 7nm, finally).Today's best processor deals (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$13.14 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$20 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Reduced Price (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$77.99 (opens in new tab)$39.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Show More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Darren Allan Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013). See more Processors news TechRadar Newsletter Sign up to get breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more, plus the hottest tech deals! Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. MOST POPULARMOST SHARED1You may not have to sell a body part to afford the Nvidia RTX 4090 after all2Blizzard made me explain Overwatch 2 smurfing to my mum for nothing3Are expensive Pro controllers like the Xbox Elite Series 2 really worth it?4Apple October launches: the new devices we might see this month5Google's AI editing tricks are making Photoshop irrelevant for most people1Best laptops for designers and coders 2The iPhone 14 Pro is made of the wrong stuff; the Pixel 7 proves that to me3iPhone 15 tipped to come with an upgraded 5G chip4Logitech's latest webcam and headset want to relieve your work day frustrations5Best offers on Laptops for Education – this festive season Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)● (opens in new tab)The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviewsFrom$12.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)