Greetings,
I would recommend avoiding any BIOS with letters. They are beta. Unless one specifically adds needed support, other enhancement or a security fix (you require).
USB stick, fat32, BIOS file in root directory. Only use qflash. You can update directly within the BIOS. You can make a back up as well. Do not use @BIOS.
You can go from F2 > directly to a higher revision, as long as all prerequisites for the newer BIOS exist. BIOS updates are cumulative, so each newer release contains all of the previous enhancements, updates, changes, etc., but again be sure you have any prerequisites met. (minimum version) and so forth.
Final note. Your CPU is supported with F2. Are you having issues? Is there something you don't have or need that a newer BIOS is offering? If your system is stable, there probably isn't a need to upgrade. Just be mindful of this.