It's a piece of cake. Just did it last week.
This link was helpful:
http://techmattr.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/sas-hba-crossflashing-or-flashing-to-it-mode/
Intel Xeon E3-1220 V2 Ivy Bridge - $150 shipped ea.
I have several of these. All brand new OEM CPU only.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Quad-Core-E3-1220V2-Processor-BX80637E31220V2/dp/B0084NUZJ6
Accept Paypal and Amazon.
Heat in sig.
I've done this with BE 2012 V-Ray and BE 2010. It was very easy to setup and I've had no issues.
Dell PowerEdge R715
vSphere 5
LSI SAS 9212-4i4e passthrough
Quantum LTO5