Testing (continued):

Windows Experience Index:

Windows 7 includes a utility to analyze the performance of a few core system components, and we will consider the desktop graphics and gaming graphics scores only. Higher is better for these values, and the highest possible score is 7.9.

In the first chart we see the desktop graphics portion, where the HD7730 is clearly a much stronger performer than the other three options. Of interest to me is that the integrated graphics of the Intel HD solution outperforms the two older, discrete cards from Nvidia.



The gaming portion of the test shows a similar result, with the HD7730 coming out on top, but this time the margin of victory isn't as large.



These results provide a rough idea that for the way I use this system, I am actually better off running the HD graphics than either of the two Nvidia cards - but that the HD7730 is a worthy upgrade.