Skip To Main Content
Support Knowledge Base

What Is the Difference Between Intel® Boxed and Tray Processors?

Content Type: Identify My Product   |   Article ID: 000029613   |   Last Reviewed: 07/15/2026

Environment

Intel Processors

What is the difference between Intel® Boxed and Tray Processors?

Intel® Boxed Processor (Retail Packaging)

Intel® Boxed processors are genuine Intel products sold through Intel® Authorized Distributors. These processors are packaged in individual, clearly labeled Intel retail boxes.

  • Packaging (shipping media): Individual retail box
  • Intended use: Individual or retail purchase
  • Distribution: Intel Authorized Distributors
  • Warranty support: Provided by OEM, Place of purchase, or Intel
  • Thermal solution: Included (fan heatsink), except for processors with suffixes K, KF, KS, XE, or X

Boxed Processors

For more details about Intel® Boxed and tray warranty, visit our warranty policy page.

Tray Processor (OEM / Bulk Packaging)

Tray processors are sold in bulk to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for system integration. These processors are not individually packaged for retail sales and are incorporated into finished systems such as laptops, desktops, or all-in-one PCs.

  • Packaging (shipping media): Bulk tray packaging (no retail box)
  • Intended use: High-volume manufacturing
  • Distribution: OEM manufacturers (for example, Acer, ASUS, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo)
  • Warranty support: Provided by the OEM or Place of Purchase

Intel does not provide direct warranty support for tray processors. Contact your OEM or reseller for warranty support.

Tray Processor

Quick Comparison

Feature

Boxed Processor

Tray Processor

Functional differences

None

None

Packaging (shipping media)

Retail box

Bulk tray

Intended customer

Individual / retail

OEM manufacturers

Thermal solution

Included (exceptions apply)

 Usually not included

Warranty support

 OEM, Place of purchase or Intel OEM or Place of Purchase

Are there any functional differences between Intel® Boxed processors and tray processors?

No, there are no functional differences between these two types of processors if they have the same processor number. The main differences are the warranty and the fact that a tray processor usually does not include a thermal solution. For more information on warranties, see the Intel® Boxed vs. Tray Processor Warranty Policy.

Intel® Data Center Systems

If you have an Intel® Data Center System (Intel DCS) from Intel, you may be eligible for a warranty. To identify if your system is an Intel® Data Center System (Intel DCS) please follow this document: Where to Find the Product Code and Serial Number for Intel® Data Center Systems (Intel® DCS). For Intel® Data Center System, please contact Intel Customer Support to determine eligibility and the warranty process.

For more information on warranties, see the Intel® Boxed vs. Tray Processor Warranty Policy.

Related Products

This article applies to 112 products.
Intel® Xeon® 6970E+ processor (480M Cache, 2.30 GHz) Intel® Celeron® Processor 3000 Series 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor J Series 8th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor J1900 (2M Cache, up to 2.42 GHz) 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Xeon® 678X Processor (192M Cache, 2.40 GHz) 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6990E+ processor (576M Cache, 2.20 GHz) 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6992E+C processor (576M Cache, 2.50 GHz) 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Processor for Desktop 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6993E+C processor (576M Cache, 2.40 GHz) 7th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor 2000 Series 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Processor U-series Intel® Xeon® 6+ processors Intel® Xeon® E Processor 5th Generation Intel® Core™ M Processors Intel® Xeon® 6982E+C processor (528M Cache, 2.50 GHz) Intel® Core™ i9 processors (14th gen) Intel® Celeron® Processor J3355 (2M Cache, up to 2.50 GHz) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel Atom® Processor C Series 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor 4000 Series Intel Atom® Processor S Series 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ i7 processors (14th gen) 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ i5 processors (14th gen) Intel Atom® Processor Z Series Intel Atom® Processor E Series Intel® Core™ processors (Series 3) Intel Atom® Processor N Series Intel Atom® Processor X Series 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Xeon® 658X Processor (144M Cache, 3.00 GHz) 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6971E+ processor (528M Cache, 2.30 GHz) Intel® Xeon® 6960E+ processor (432M Cache, 2.40 GHz) Intel® Xeon® 654 Processor (72M Cache, 3.10 GHz) Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor 1000 Series Intel® Xeon® 6 processors Intel® Core™ X-series Processors Intel® Core™ processors (Series 1) 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6991E+C processor (576M Cache, 2.50 GHz) Intel® Xeon® 6971E+C processor (528M Cache, 2.60 GHz) Intel® Processor N-series 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor J3455 (2M Cache, up to 2.30 GHz) 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor 5000 Series Intel® Core™ i3 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ processors (Series 2) 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Xeon® W Processor 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors Intel® Celeron® Processor G Series 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors Intel® Xeon® 6980E+ processor (528M Cache, 2.10 GHz) 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Xeon® 676X Processor (144M Cache, 2.80 GHz) 2nd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors Intel® Xeon® 696X Processor (336M Cache, 2.40 GHz) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ Processor N-series

Discontinued Products

Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v4 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v3 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v4 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v2 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors Intel Atom® Processor D Series Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v4 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v6 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v5 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 Family Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v2 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v3 Family Legacy Intel Atom® Processors Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v2 Family Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v3 Family Legacy Intel® Celeron® Processor

Need more help?

Contact support
Contact support