APRIL 2020 PCWorld 27killed in 2014 [go.pcworld.com/kl14]),
nevertheless, it’s well worth spending five
minutes to watch it if you’ve ever been
interested in how the brain of your computer
comes to life.
PC enthusiasts often toss around terms
like transistors, silicon wafers, photo-
lithography masks, interconnects, and
substrates. Intel’s video provides a great
high-level overview of what all that really
means. Better yet, it does it in a friendly,
approachable manner that you can actually
wrap your mind around even if you don’t
have an engineering degree. After
watching it, you’ll better appreciate all the
hard work that goes into the badass CPU at
the heart of your gaming rig (go.pcworld.
com/gmrg).
Check it out!
Want to dive even deeper down the
rabbit hole? Intel also published a video
diving deeper into transistor technology (go.
pcworld.com/snsl) specifically, though it’s
not quite as accessible for non-technical
types. “Learn more about how we turn sand
into the silicon chips that power the world,” it
promises.
Intel’s been pushing more helpful
information recently. Earlier this year, the
company threw open the doors to its
secretive overclocking labs, revealing what
Intel engineers use to push CPU clocks to 11
(go.pcworld.com/cp11).
If you’re interested in more nuts-and-bolts
looks inside how your PC’s components are
made, several factory tours have shed light on
various pieces of hardware. These aren’t as
high-level as Intel’s chip video—they don’t
explain basic concepts, just show you how
the sausage is made—but they’re nevertheless
illuminating.
We’ve taken our cameras inside a
Gigabyte motherboard factory, while
Gamers Nexus (go.pcworld.com/gmns)
provided deep dives into the manufacturing
of AMD’s Ryzen coolers, Cooler Master and
DeepCool liquid coolers, NZXT cases,
tempered glass, and copper heatpipes.
We’ve embedded them all below for your
viewing pleasure.