Sapphire HD 7730 1GB GDDR5 Video Card Review

Sapphire HD 7730 Video Card Review

Introduction

As writers for a tech review website we are all naturally big time computer enthusiasts. We get to play with some of the most powerful PC components on the market and because of that may become a little jaded. So when something like a entry-level video card comes along there isn’t much fanfare. But sometimes those lower-end components have the capability to surprise us.

Today we are taking a look at the Sapphire HD 7730 1GB GDDR5 which became one of those surprising cases. With a modest 384 stream processors and an 800 MHz core clock we see a standard entry-level card. Add to that the 1GB of GDDR5 memory at 1125 MHz and a dual slot cooler though and you see that this card may have more under the hood than we thought. Read on to see how it performs.

Features

• Advanced GDDR5 Memory Technology – GDDR5 memory provides twice the bandwidth per pin of GDDR3 memory, delivering more speed and higher bandwidth.
• AMD CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology – Triple or Quadruple gaming power with AMD CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology.AMD CrossFireX technology supports up to four graphics cards to be used in a single system.
• AMD HD3D Technology – Enjoy the most immersive experience possible with full support for High Definition Stereoscopic 3D, a technique that presents 2D images (movies, games, photos) in a format that creates the illusion of three-dimensional depth when using compatible 3D displays / glasses / software.
• 28 nm GCN (Graphic Core Next) Architecture – The new and 28nm GCN Architecture with more efficient process technology puts more transistors in less space, enabling a dramatic increase in Processing Power. Crank the settings, devastate your enemies and bear witness to absurdly high frame rates with AMD Radeon HD7000 series graphics card-DirectX 11 has never looked this good. Maximum setting and crazy performance shouldn’t be a compromise. The AMD Radeon HD7900 Series with the new 28 nm GCN Architecture assures that it’s not.

Specifications

Display Support	2 x Maximum Display Monitor(s) support
Output	D-Sub(VGA) 1 x Dual-Link DVI 1 x HDMI (with 3D)
GPU	800 MHz Core Clock 28 nm Chip 384 x Stream Processors
Video Memory	1024 MB Size 128 -bit GDDR5 4500 MHz Effective
Dimensions	163(L)x104(W)x33(H) mm Size. 2 x slot

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Packaging

The 7730 comes in a classic Sapphire box with their signature character on the front and a list of specs and features on the back.

Closer Look

The card itself has a dual slot cooler with a large fan and heatsink which should be more than capable of keeping this thing cool.
Around back we see the available outputs, VGA, DVI, and HDMI.

Test System

• AMD A10-6800k APU
• ASRock FM2A85X Extreme 6 Motherboard
• Corsair H100 Cooler
• OCZ 700W PSU
• NZXT Phantom 410 Case

Synthetic Benchmarks

Pulling up GPU-Z we see that our 7730 packs 384 shaders and 1GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128 bit bus. The core is clocked at 800 MHz and the memory at 1125 MHz as well.
An interesting feature of this card is its ability to pair up with an APU to theoretically boost performance by utilizing the graphics capabilities of the APU’s onboard GPU. We will be comparing the bare 7730 against the 7730 paired with a 6800k.

3DMark

7730	7730 + APU

The new 3DMark benchmark stresses both the GPU and CPU heavily and can easily bring our little 7730 to its knees.
The card by itself pulled a score of 7651 in Cloud Gate and 1583 in Fire Strike. Pairing it up with our APU bumps our Fire Strike up only 3%, but Cloud Gate sees a huge 15% gain which is impressive for a “free” gain.

3DMark 11

7730	7730 + APU

3DMark 11, like the new 3DMark, stresses both CPU and GPU, focusing specifically on DirectX 11 features.
Our 7730 scored 2368 points on the performance preset by itself but saw a massive 27% increase when paired with the 6800k.

Unigine Heaven

7730	7730 + APU

Unigine Heaven is a graphically intensive DirectX 11 benchmark capable of pushing even the most powerful graphics cards to their limits.
By itself our little card was able to average 19.4 fps which isn’t too bad considering the test was run at 1920×1080 with most settings turned up. Unfortunately pairing with our APU saw no gains whatsoever.

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.

Final Thoughts

Pros:

• Good performance
• Low heat
• Very quiet

Cons:

• APU pairing performance doesn’t translate to gaming

Overall I was pretty impressed by the Sapphire HD 7730. It’s an excellent entry-level card that is plenty capable to handle older games on high resolutions with the eye candy turned up and can even play some newer titles as well. Paired with an AMD APU some benchmarks will see significant gains but in gaming they just don’t translate over and in some cases can even cause small performance losses. The cooler works very well, providing excellent temps and low noise. If Sapphire can top all of that off with a sub-$80 price point they will have a winner here. I say “if” because as of the time of writing the 1GB GDDR5 version is not available, only the 2GB DDR3.

If you are looking for an entry-level gaming graphics card and are on a budget, the Sapphire HD 7730 1GB would be a great choice.