DRD Team

As I usually have v_sync set to true, my framerate is usually 50fps +/-10, so I hadn't noticed this before.

Just on a whim I changed it to false. My goodness, the framerate shot up to anywhere from 800 to 1600,
depending on the action. It makes my videocard (8800GT) sing, literally.
Well, it is more a high pitched chirp. The higher the framerate the louder it chirps. Now I have to figure
out if that can be detrimental to the videocard.

You are only wasting energy. Your monitor won't go any faster with the high frame rate and the graphics card just creates a lot of heat because it's now running at full load (which makes the fan spin faster and the noise grow louder.)

I never disable vsync because it creates a lot of screen tearing and in the end makes the game look less smooth.

More fps value = Your card will very hot.

And even if you monitor could sync to an absolute absurd of 1600...your eyes/brain wouldn't be able to tell that from 85 or 100 anyways.

60 FPS is all you'll ever need.