Alright this will probably be my last post before I totally say screw it. I installed EVGA Precision, which is mainly used for overclocking but has a very nice utility that showcases your gpu temperature, fan speed, core clock, etc.
I tested it with Crysis 2 and let it run for a good 5 minutes before making conclusions.
GPU temp reached roughly 84c, which could be better but my 8800gt ran this hot so I am assuming this is normal.
Core clock and Shader clock never downclocked the whole time I was playing. The reason why I wondered about downclocking was because when I alt tab and stay on the desktop, my gpu will downclock itself to inactive levels. I am assuming its because of the power save feature that this series of cards have.
Checked CPU-Z and it never showed a sign of downclocking either. I even checked task manager and noticed my cpu was only about 50%-60% usage.
Fan speed reached about 55%, would it be safe to manually increase this a tad or do I risk damaging the unit?
The one thing I did notice that may be troublesome is the GPU usage. At the start of the test level it hovered around 95%. When I reached the point where my fps dipped, my usage dropped to about 65%. These aren't random dips by the way. Is that normal? Is the drop in usage causing my fps to drop, and if so would my cpu be to blame for not providing enough power to satisfy the g-card?
To close I just want to thank all you who have provided input. It is much appreciated
