Intel has launched a series of instructional videos as part of a new series called "Architecture All Access." In each video, a senior Intel leader delves into a specific aspect of how a computer works, and with the growing competition between AMD and Intel, now is the perfect time to learn about the brains behind the latest PCs. This week, we will have a two-part look at Modern CPU Architecture by Boyd Phelps, CVP of Client Engineering at Intel. Phelps has worked on Intel CPUs from Nehalem in 2008 to the recent Tiger Lake chips.

You can learn a lot from these videos, but if you have time over the weekend, you can learn about the history of CPUs and delve deeper into more advanced CPU architecture concepts. Part 1 gives a broad overview of what a CPU is and what it does, and there is a great story about the first computer bug. (Spoiler alert: it's a real bug.) Part 2 is a "deep dive into microarchitecture," covering the major parts of the CPU and the future of computing over the next few years.

Phelps manages to explain complex topics like branch prediction and CPU microarchitecture in a digestible manner. It is always a plus that one does not need a PhD in computer engineering to understand this series.