Source: Zhongguancun Online
If you think that the CPU top cover is an ordinary piece of iron, then you are wrong. The top cover of the CPU is not only not iron, but also can see a lot of information. Yes, the top cover of the CPU is made of copper, which provides better thermal conductivity, and alloys such as titanium and nickel are added to increase the strength. In order to avoid oxidation, the surface of the CPU top cover is coated with a layer of nickel, which is what we usually see.
Core i5-9400F
So what is the information about the characters on the TOP OF THE CPU? We take Intel's Core i5-9400F as an example, we can see that there are a total of 5 lines on the top cover, and we will interpret it separately.
The first line is Intel's ring logo, which is an abstraction based on the Intel trademark, as long as intel U is not too old to have this mark.
The second line indicates that the CPU belongs to the product series, such as the Core i5 series printed with Core i5, correspondingly, the Celeron series printed with Celeron, the Zhiqiang series printed with Xeon, and the Pentium series is Pentium, in addition to a very small number of products that do not belong to any series and will be replaced by Processor.
The third line is the specific model of the product, such as the i5-9400F, which is also the model we use when comparing products in the ladder chart and when buying products.
The S-spec code corresponds to the step of the CPU
The information in the fourth line is the CPU's identity code and main frequency, the main frequency does not need to be explained, the main frequency here is the silent frequency instead of the turbo frequency. The identity code is also the S-spec code, there is no need to go deeper here, we just need to know that it is related to stepping, basically no impact on CPU performance.
The information in the fifth line is mistaken for the serial number by many players, but it is actually the CPU's Match code. The Batch code generally has 8 digits, which is composed of three information: the place of origin (the 1st digit), the production cycle (2nd-4th digits), and the specific batch (the last 4 digits).
Specifically, the origin code for the first place is: Malaysia is L/Q, Vietnam is X, Costa Rica is 3/7, and China is 5. The first digit of the production cycle refers to the production year, 8 is 2018, 9 is 2019, the last two digits of the production cycle are the number of weeks, and 50 indicates the 50th week. Specific batches don't mean much to most users and don't need much attention.
The information on AMD's CPU cover is similar, but the product series and model are placed in the upper left corner, the rest of the production cycle and other information is similar, and AMD's CPU also does not have a serial number.
The serial number and Match code on the CPU package
Although there is no serial number on the CPU, but its Batch code and packaging is consistent, in the warranty to provide product packaging, if the purchase of the CPU on the Batch code and packaging is different, it means that it is a skew or other way after the package of the product, can not enjoy the warranty, must be returned in time to protect their rights and interests.