Changing CPU

greetings

no, a format is not needed
if the bios doesnt reconize the new cpu for what it is, you will need to update your bios to the latest version
use artic 5 for your thermal compound...

good luck..let us know how you make out

you dont need to format your computer at all to change out the cpu. one thing you need to do is to make sure the motherboard supports the cpu that you are putting in. besides just the cpu socket interface, you need to make sure that the motheroboard supports the cpu frequency.

if the motheroboard doesnt support the cpu frequency then you will need to flash the bios. good luck