AMD K5 CPU Delid: Exposing the Integrated Circuit within

In this video I open up an AMD-K5-PR166ABR CPU. With a combination of heat from a hot air station (set to 480C) and a bit of prying with a custom made-to-fit razor blade, I was able to remove the lid soldered to the ceramic body. The entire heating process took around 5 minutes, which I think is mainly due to the large chunk of metal on the top wicking all of the heat away.
The AMD K5 series of microprocessors was released back in 1996. This version of the K5 didn't come around until January of 1997, however. It was made using a 0.35 um CMOS manufacturing process and has 4.3 million transistors. I found a lot of this information on cpu-world.com which also has loads of other great info on older parts like this.
To say the silicon die inside is beautiful is an understatement. The way that the features are all arranged allow for the light to reflect in some amazing ways. Unfortunately, I ruined it a bit when I popped the lid off. Looking back at the footage, I think I had the air nozzle too close and it bounced off of it and landed back on the die, leaving a blob of solder behind. I'll remember to move the nozzle far away so that I don't repeat this in the future.
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This video was edited with Microsoft Video Editor.
Music is from Microsoft Video Editor, titled: Mood Groove

[@xerzy]

Gorgeous! This is the kind of video the tech world needs more of, thanks a lot for sharing!

[@Badassest]

I can't believe how small the circuits are. The magnification required just to see them is insane. The parts that initially looked like random scratching were in fact parts of the circuits too. It's truly amazing that in '96 manufacturing could produce something like this. Is this in micron and nanometers? Or a measurement I'm not knowledgeable about? Either way it's beautiful and impressive. Even in 2024 the size of phone cameras are psychotic to me. Just imagining electron flow boggles the mind lol. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@johnhunt1725]

Flying razor blades - BRILLIANT!

[@douro20]

Actually a RISC CPU in disguise...it's an AMD 29K emulating a Pentium-class CPU in microcode. The K6 was also RISC internally but wasn't based on any existing RISC design, instead being a clean-sheet design originally from NexGen which was optimised for executing x86 instructions.

[@fastw3748]

intresting

[@kevalsanghvi3045]

I always wondered what was there in an IC. I even hammered an IC to see what was there in it but I wasn't successful and I even searched about decapping IC on KZbin but they used chemicals to open it. And I now got to learn so many things all because of your videos. Keep making such informative videos. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@chetmyers7041]

5:02 Just amazing, wow!

[@kb5urq]

Wow, what an amazing video. (love the music too!) You have an amazing skill set. Loved watching

[@robotics4.077]

underrated chanell :(

[@EvilmonkeyzDesignz]

Thanks, that means a lot! :)

[@robotics4.077]

@@EvilmonkeyzDesignz you should thank yourself

[@MyrLin8]

In relation to one of your shorts, the 'interesting marks' you mention are alignment marks for the photolithography process 'shooting the wafers' :). ... I used to 'pound sand into interesting shapes' for a living :)

[@bose301s]

They're called fiducials

[@cpu_duke]

Awesome chip. Nice equipment you use. More more more!

[@ulviyalcn6234]

thanks man been seeing alot of these in computers but never knew much about them

[@Rickenbacker451]

I wonder what it looks like under the top cover.

[@lazibayer]

Why don't you delid a PR133 instead? The PR166 is a much rarer variant.

[@nuhmusaozyoldas465]

Ben çok sevdim.

[@seleldjdfmn221]

Nice work. What are Your future video ideas? i really Want to be youtube friends xP

[@EvilmonkeyzDesignz]

Thank you! I have a few crazy ideas for videos, but mainly it will consist of more of this type of stuff, ie looking at parts under the microscope, but also some circuit board related videos as well, from how to design them to soldering and using them. We can definitely be KZbin friends :)

[@kamarulehramayun6201]

Im from Malaysia 😬