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Tom’s Hardware
Tom’s Hardware
Technology
Christopher Harper

New EU packaging regulations spark misplaced fear of CPUs ditching stock coolers

European Union Intel Corporation AMD Reddit
Old AMD Ryzen Threadripper packaging.

Two days ago, on the PCMR subreddit, Reddit user redmera highlighted an upcoming change in EU regulations that would ban "ridiculous CPU packaging" like what used to be found on Intel's Core i9 and AMD's Ryzen Threadripper CPUs, among others. Subsequently, NikTekOfficial on Twitter declared, based on this Reddit post, that CPU manufacturers would be forced to ditch stock CPU coolers, which has spurred subsequent coverage to repeat this as fact.

However, based on a close analysis of the source and referenced material, the imminent death of stock CPU coolers seems exaggerated due to a misunderstanding of the regulations. Phrasing in the original PPWR directive notes that:

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