Windows Experience Index dropped after adding dedicated graphics card

graphics cardwindows 7windows-experience-index

I purchased a new PC with a Gigabye Z68X-UD3H-B3. I had a Radeon HD 5450 graphics card spare, so I've added that instead of using the onboard graphics as I just presumed it would be better.

But, my Windows experience index has gone down. From 5.4 to 5.

Dekstop Performance has dropped from 5.4 to 5, although gaming graphics has gone up from 5.9 to 6.2.

I'm not actually going to be using the machine for gaming, just audio production, but I added the card as I'll possibly be doing video editing in future too.

  • Why would this be?
  • Can I trust Windows Experience Index scores? Or is it possible the onboard stuff is just better for general desktop stuff?

CPU is an Intel Core i7 2600 3.4GHz 95W Sandy Bridge Quad Core.

Best Answer

AMD HD5450 is not a great card to use as upgrade for Intel HD3000.

But Windows Experience Index is a strange thing. I replaced HD4830 card with HD7770 overclocked edition which performs 2~3 times better in every aspect (and not to mention the all newest standards) and my index dropped from 7.3 to 7.1.

So don't bother with this... In Windows using higher resolutions you should "feel" better with HD5450.

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