Lower GPU use and temps after overclock?

[loops]

First:

2500k (turbo at 4.4)
gigabyte z68 mobo
8 gigs of gskil
64 SSD M4
910 PC power & cooling psw
haf 912 (all fan slots filled but side)
MSI GTX 560 (non ti) SLI (dual Fan)

I have had 1 of the 560s for a few months and its temps run around 50-70ish solo. I got a second one and the temps were about the same for the second one. Once in SLI the top card would tend to run 10c hotter than the lower one so I put in a small fan inside the case to blow on the top card. From there it was only 5c hotter.

I got 3dmark 11 and ran a test. It said that my score was low and it matched buids closer to an i7/gtx 570. So I did a small overclock to match this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130664

my card at stock:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592.

I ran 3dmark 11 again...score put me on par with other set ups like mine and closer to an i7/gtx580 score.

I then did some B3/Skyrim and all is well, but I noticed that since the OC my gpu usage has dropped in general and more so for the 2nd card. My temps are also lower by about 5c. This has confused me a bit. I expected higher temps and gpu use to stay about the same. CPU use is about the same. Am I missing something here? (Ultra but AA low or off)

 

[memadmax]

They are prolly turning the fan up higher due to the OC.

 

[loops]

They are prolly turning the fan up higher due to the OC.

I'd buy that, I think. But why would the fans kick in and go even lower than stock temps? What about gpu use?

 

[memadmax]

Are you using nTune to do the OC'ing?
Because once you do it automatically changes the voltages and such as it changes the clocks. This could all impact how the card behaves.

 

[memadmax]

Oops let me clarify a bit.
If you let a utility such as nTune automatically change clock speeds instead of user defined "hard set" clocks then nTune will automatically down clock the cards when they are not under load. Such as when you are not doing anything in the game.
Whereas if you use hard set settings, then the clocks will always be high, even when the card isn't doing anything.

 

[amuffin]

Try updating to the new beta drivers, http://geforce.com/drivers/beta-legacy

 

[loops]

I used afterburner and the 1st 3d marks score suggested an driver up date. I did the update, then the OC.

I did not mess with the volts. That bar is grayed out in fact. My plan was just get a small OC in and not mess with the volts. The stock to OC numbers are not all that big.

I did more BF3 64 ppl maps and my temps are down and so is my gpu use. I would tend to see 90% use in the afterburner cart and it would not vary much. After the OC I see about 80% and more variation in use of both cards but the cards are used about equally. In skyrim the main GPU sees about 5-10% more use.

As for game play, I can't tell the diffidence. Just better temps.

The Mobo and 2nd GPU are just about 30 days old now. Could it be break in? Or the driver update?

 

[Soul slayero]

its also droping at stock settings o.o