Thank you for looking into this issue. I have run the tests on a target machine which is a computer and screen built into a single unit with a touchscreen. Adding/changing the command line option has no apparent effect. Here are the results:

For the tests I got the time with System.currentTimeMillis right before and after the calls to Graphics.drawImage(Image,int,int,null) (observer is null because the images are preloaded) and Graphics.drawString(String,int,int).

For
Java version "1.8.0_31"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_31-b13)
Java Hotspot(TM) Client VM (build 25.31-b07, mixed mode, sharing)

The results are:
Number of buttons painted: 957
Average time to paint button: 0
Number of strings drawn: 616
Average time to draw a string: 0
Total time to paint all buttons: 263
Total time to draw all strings: 92

For
Java version "1.80-40"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_40-b26)
Java Hotspot(TM) Client VM (build 25.40-b25,mixed mode)

The results are:
Number of buttons painted: 924
Average time to paint button: 10
Number of strings drawn: 594
Average time to draw a string: 10
Total time to paint all buttons: 9298
Total time to draw all strings: 6022

With commandline option: -Dsun.java2d.d3d=True the results are:
Number of buttons painted: 936
Average time to paint button: 9
Number of strings drawn: 600
Average time to draw a string: 10
Total time to paint all buttons: 9197
Total time to draw all strings: 6040

With commandline option -Dsun.java2d.d3d=false the results are:
Number of buttons painted: 924
Average time to paint button: 10
Number of strings drawn: 594
Average time to draw a string: 10
Total time to paint all buttons: 9854
Total time to draw all strings: 5961

With commandline option -Dsun.java2d.opengl=True the results are:
Number of buttons painted: 924
Average time to paint button: 10
Number of strings drawn: 594
Average time to draw a string: 10
Total time to paint all buttons: 9997
Total time to draw all strings: 6076

The "video card" on this machine should be indicated by the following information:

From Device Manager - Display:
Name    Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
PNP Device ID  PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A001&SUBSYS_A0018086&REV_02\3&11583659&0&10
Adapter Type    Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 3150, Intel Corporation compatible
Adapter Description      Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
Adapter RAM    256.00 MB (268,435,456 bytes)
Installed Drivers igdumdx32.dll
Driver Version   8.14.10.2230
INF File oem2.inf (iPNV0 section)
Color Planes     Not Available
Color Table Entries        65536
Resolution        1024 x 768 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel          16
Memory Address           0xFEA00000-0xFEA7FFFF
I/O Port 0x0000D000-0x0000D007
Memory Address           0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF
Memory Address           0xFE900000-0xFE9FFFFF
IRQ Channel      IRQ 16
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address           0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver   c:\windows\system32\drivers\igdkmd32.sys (8.14.10.2230, 4.58 MB (4,807,168 bytes), 10/24/2010 9:10 PM)

It should also be noted that we have run this test on numerous PC desktops in our company all with the same results. It seems unlikely to us that the problem is connected to a specific piece of video hardware.