Intel CPU not always running full speed during games

SO I have a new sandy bridge i7 with turbo boost. generally whenever i do something cpu heavy, it boosts my speed up to 2.6ghz, im assuming thats turbo boost.

i use cpu-z for my information.

when im idling, or just browing the web, CPU z tells me my cpu is only running at 800mhz. im assuming this is that other intel application that saves battery life and power consumption.

however if i leave cpu z open during a game, say CSS or 3dmark06, it switches back and forth betwen 800mhz and 2.5ghz the whole time, i watch cpu-z in a nother monitor so i can watch in real time.

is this normal? is it just smarter than me? or is one of my apps messed up? thanks. is it throttling down the cpu when it shouldnt be cause of heat?

 

Well, the a counter question would be are you getting unsatisfactory frame rates during those games?

If the CPU doens't have to go full throttle, it won't.

 

in most games, no im not. even though my 3dmark score is above average for my spepcs (and it throttles down during use). however my CSS framerates are junk, and it IS throttling down during gameplay, not because of temps. i ran mat info and my nvidia card is being used. im not tripping too hard, just curious if others have encountered this. sometimes my css will freeze up during gameplay for a half a second to 1 second, im guessing its cause of this but i could be wrong.