Psyrick, it would also be a great idea to reduce the memory clock to as low as you can before the card gets sick. I was able to lop off 5-6 degrees per card by doing that and you don't lose performance as bitcoin mining is not memory-intensive. And really consider the bench I posted.
Thank you for that suggestion. I was thinking it might be good to turn down the memory clock, but I wasn't sure if I'd lose stability due to the memory falling behind pace with the core. Also, I will consider the bench.
By the way. I really do appreciate the discussion I have received over this. I am very glad to be a member of this forum. The helpfulness of lack of hatefulness is very refreshing as compared to /b/.