From day one (starting 5 years back) I've been and "Intel Man" so to speak and have always like the rock solid reliability of them. I know exactly what you mean by "having a feel" for something. Whether it be playing guitar, running machinery, working on car engines, building something out of wood or whatever...It's like a sixth sense about things and is a rare quality in most people that possess this.
But having years behind you working with Intel and their settings doesn't hurt either...but even still there is an art to doing this right and effectively...something you seem to do well Weldzilla