Not exactly.
Far example, Furmark 100% load will draw signifcantly more power than a game. Both are 100% load.
I spend a lot of time on TS with the BF3 regulars. In that group of users, we have had several users switch from AMD to Intel, Erocker and Crazyeyesreaper included. Both can confirm that AMD Phenom II CPUs create a bottleneck, even with single cards. It's not a "game-breaking" bottleneck, but you WIL Lget more FPS using a SKT 1155 CPU, even at stock, and the Phenom rig maxed out jsut cannot compare due to it's lack of memory bandwidth.
The issue is not with the CPU core..it's the memory performance. For example(one that I use commonly), Dirt3 performs nearly 50% faster on an APU...an APU!!!...vs an 1100T, with all things else remaining the same..same ram, same VGA, same drivers, etc.
And no, I do not agree that setting custom fan profiles is a way to avoid RMAs...this is why you have a warranty..the card either works in it's stock config, or it is broken. That's why XFX kept sending me new cards...and finally the 6950...because all the ones I sent in to them were broken. That said, it wasn't heat that was causing problems with those cards...I had purchased "XXX" 5870's, and repalcements after the first two were not "XXX"-level cards. As I purchased 1300 MHz mermoy cards, when the replacements failed @ 1300 MHz, they RMA'd, with basically no questions asked.
I only expect my computer stuff to last within warranty. I bought XFX cards because they have a lifetime warranty...which means the actual lifespan of those cards is not something I concern myself with. I paid extra for that warranty to remove the financial part.
That said, because I review hardware, I actually buy far less than I used to. IF you look at boomstik360's older GPU thread, you'll see I've posted many Crossfire paris..each I bought, and the boards and other hardware to go along.
In 2011, I purchased only CPUs to do reviews, and a few other odds and ends, a far cry from the 5-8k i used to spend every year. I won't ahve to buy firther hardware for reviews now, either, as TPU takes care of that for me. The "old stuff", from past reviews, now gets hadned down to my personal rigs.
Also, because I review hardware, using it at stock serves more purpose than it would for a normal user, as the problems that I run into are things that I relate in my reviews. If things break...my readers are gonna hear about it. That means you.
I already had a serving of alphagettis today mmmmm tasty! 
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