Good point!
I was too. Are you using any NI settings?
I read Tessellation takes load off your CPU and puts it on the GPU. In some cases I read it increasers FPS.
I thought Shadows would be a much bigger drop as well. I have put them back to MAX in my daily profile.
I spent my weekend testing P3DV2.1 performance and just made a really long post over at the LM forum.
I hate to cross post, but I think P3DV2 fans might find something interesting in my results as I lurk here all the time and learn a lot from everyone.
It's also too long to post again.
http://www.prepar3d.com/forum-5/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=5822
Best,
Rick