Gaming Benchmarks

DiRT 3


7730	7730 + APU

DiRT 3 represents a mid-level graphically intensive game which we ran at the high preset.
Even at 1080p and the settings on high the 7730 was able to average over 47 fps and never dropped below 40 which is very impressive for such a budget card.
Again as we saw in the Unigine benchmark, there is no gain from pairing with an APU here.

Just Cause 2


7730	7730 + APU

Just Cause 2 also represents a fairly middle-of-the-road GPU stressing title.
At 1080p with almost every single setting maxed out we see an average fps 45 from the 7730 which is very impressive.
Once again though APU pairing gave no benefit and actually resulted in a small hit to performance in this title.

Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite is the newest title in the popular Bioshock series and is fairly graphically intensive.
Again at 1920×1080 resolution and on the Ultra preset the little 7730 put up an average of about 20 fps with a minimum of about 10 fps. As-is this isn’t really playable but lowering the resolution and/or dropping the settings easily results in 30+ average.
Here the performance hit from APU pairing shows up again, essentially putting a nail in the coffin for that feature in games.

Temperature and Noise Performance

Because this isn’t a performance card you would expect that noise and temperature would be pretty low even in stock form. But pair it with a large aftermarket heatsink and fan and those benefits are multiplied.
In game it stayed around 45 degrees and even at full tilt in Furmark the card only saw a max temp of 54 degrees. You won’t ever need to worry about this card overheating.
The large fan strapped to the card provides good airflow and little noise. On auto in game the fan was just barely audible over my case fans at idle. Even at 100% fan speed the noise is not bad and is immediately drowned out when the case fans are cranked up.