Testing:

This card will be tested in a system used primarily as an HTPC running Windows 7 64-bit, almost exclusively in Media Center for the playback of live TV and movies. It does occasionally serve as a gaming rig for some casual family fun on the big screen. The system features a Biostar H61 based Mini-ITX motherboard, 8GB DDR3 1333MHz, an Intel Celeron G1610 processor, and a Kingston SSD. Low noise and low power consumption are very important features for this system to have, but it must also be able to playback high definition content and handle the rather light requirements of my children's games.

The list below details the four graphics options to be compared in this review...

» Intel HD Integrated Graphics provided by a Celeron G1610 processor (Intel drivers: 9.17.10.2932)
» eVGA GeForce GT520 1GB GDDR3 (Nvidia drivers: 320.49)
» Zotac GeForce GT610 2GB GDDR3 (Nvidia drivers: 320.49)
» Sapphire Radeon HD7730 1GB GDDR5 (Catalyst drivers: 13.4)

And the next two charts compare the specifications (GPU speed and memory speed) of these options. Can you zero in on one specification that might really make the difference for the HD7730?





To evaluate the performance of each option, the following four sets of tests will be conducted. The following four pages will detail the setup and results for each.

» Windows Experience Index
» Unigine Heaven 4.0
» Thermal Testing
» Power Consumption