Stepping?

I did a search for stepping but nothing came up that explained it. Would somebody be kind enough to explain what stepping is? In CPU-Z it says Stepping: 0?

this is hard for me to explain...i will try

when processors are made, they are gradually improved thoughout the manufacturing process...these improvements are given a new "stepping"...although not a new chip, it is an advancement on the prior ones

So, if I have this right....you could have 10 CPU's that were made in the same process, but each one will be of a different stepping? Meaning I could have the 2nd one, and somebody could have the 5th, and they would be of different quality?

What I thought it was, that a CPU could be changed through stepping. Something that we could do.

I know I sound ignorant here, but Im just beginning in all this stuff. A few days and I should have a feel for everything.

yea basically they do change the core a bit, rearange stuff a bit, nothing really major, each such "improvement" or change is marked by a newer stepping.
Most of the time, the newer the stepping the better quality is the part, not even quality, but more headroom. As the performance stays the same, only speed headroom changes for us.

Alright, I think I have a grasp on that. Appreciate all the help


Oh, one more small thing. Is there a way to find out the stepping on this thing? Like I said, CPU-Z has a 0 for the stepping category.