Can I upgrade the processor?

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9 Jun 2013
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Birmingham
Hello well I was here a while back getting help on the gaming rig for my son, which was successfully completed :)
Now my son wants to upgrade to the i5 processor and I was wondering if that's possible with the the set up we have already which is

VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)

Would I have to do the bios again? Also which i5 should I get?
Thanks guys!
 
Download the latest BIOS, extract the downloaded folder and place the BIOS onto a USB pen drive, enter the BIOS choose Qflash option and follow the instructions.
 
Update won't be helpful with recognizing CPU as you've got IvyBridge already, but keeping the latest BIOS is always good idea.
There's whole CPUs family to pickup, all will fit:
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/59134/2nd-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Desktop
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/65504/3rd-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Desktop
but in practice CPUs with no suffix except "K" count. "K" suffix means your son is able to overclock CPU more that 500 MHz easily just with simple multiplier change in BIOS. The rest is overclockable upto 500 MHz only.
Remember to do CMOS reset once new CPU is populated. Try not to bend CPU socket pins during CPU change as they are very vulnerable.
 
Update won't be helpful with recognizing CPU as you've got IvyBridge already, but keeping the latest BIOS is always good idea.
There's whole CPUs family to pickup, all will fit:
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/59134/2nd-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Desktop
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/65504/3rd-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Desktop
but in practice CPUs with no suffix except "K" count. "K" suffix means your son is able to overclock CPU more that 500 MHz easily just with simple multiplier change in BIOS. The rest is overclockable upto 500 MHz only.
Remember to do CMOS reset once new CPU is populated. Try not to bend CPU socket pins during CPU change as they are very vulnerable.

I have got no idea what most of that means :D but thank you for taking the time to reply and try and help me!
I really don't know what to do now if I bought the 3570k i5 would the gigabyte z68 be ok or am I better off getting another motherboard that is able to cope without me having to do anything confusing as I am a complete novice! He is going on about graphics cards too now :o
 
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