The issue has been here since we changed drawing code for meshes to use
vertex arrays instead of immediate mode when VBO was off. Basically we
should now always invalidate the GPU objects regardless of the VBO
setting in the preferences.
The bug has been there since 2.73 at least, but what made it apparent
now is that new version resets preferences and as an extension the VBO
flag.
Should be included in final 2.74 release
b98c7bcf3a