Finally, (0xA in hex) represents the revision level of that model’s silicon mask. Stepping 10, also known as "A1" or a specific revision, indicates a mature production state. Early steppings (like stepping 0 or 1) often have errata—bugs in the silicon that require microcode updates or workarounds. By stepping 10, Intel has resolved the majority of initial production issues, optimized power curves, and improved binning yields. For an OEM or motherboard manufacturer, stepping 10 is a welcome sight, signaling a stable, reliable component.
Family 6 Model 142 Stepping 10 represents a turning point. It was the chip that finally moved the industry past the 14nm era. It brought AVX-512 to the mainstream laptop (before later architectures removed it for power reasons). And in its stepping 10 maturity, it offered a glimpse of what Intel’s 10nm process could have been from the start: stable, performant, and efficient.
If you’ve ever run a system report on a late-2010s ultrabook, you might have seen a cryptic string: . While it looks like a serial number, it’s actually a precise "fingerprint" of the processor powering your device. What Is This Processor? intel64 family 6 model 142 stepping 10
: This specific stepping is often cited in technical forums for its support of Intel Hardware-Assisted Virtualization (VMX) and Extended Page Tables (EPT) . If you're running VMware or Cisco Modeling Labs, this signature confirms your hardware can handle modern virtual machines.
A quad-core, eight-thread workhorse found in millions of ultrabooks released around 2018. Finally, (0xA in hex) represents the revision level
In the story of this chip, Stepping 10 represents maturity. By the time the manufacturer reached this revision, the engineers had ironed out the early bugs. They had polished the silicon. If Model 142 was the architecture, Stepping 10 was the master carpenter who tightened the bolts and smoothed the edges. It meant your laptop was likely built in the later production run of that generation, offering stability that the early adopters didn't get.
You might recognize Model 142 better by its trade name: The Intel Core i5-8210Y (or potentially an i7 variant). This chip was special because it was a "Y-series" processor. By stepping 10, Intel has resolved the majority
This model wasn't built to be a flashy, power-hungry beast like its cousins, the desktop "Coffee Lake" chips that sat in giant towers with whirring fans. Model 142 was a different creature entirely. It belonged to a generation codenamed Its purpose? Extreme efficiency. It was designed for the sleek, thin-and-light laptops—the kind students slipped into backpacks and business travelers used on red-eye flights.