Glossary
3DMark Time Spy score
A DirectX 12 GPU benchmark from UL Solutions. The composite score is a common shorthand for desktop-class gaming GPU performance at 1440p.
Time Spy renders a fixed scene with tessellation, volumetric lighting, and async compute, then reports a graphics score, a CPU score, and an overall composite.
Score bands (graphics score, desktop)
- Entry 1080p card: 6,000–9,000
- 1440p sweet spot: 12,000–18,000
- 4K-capable: 18,000–25,000
- Halo (RTX 4090, RX 7900 XTX): 28,000+
Why we use it
- Cross-vendor (NVIDIA and AMD score on the same scale).
- Reproducible (locked workload).
- Maps well to actual 1440p frame rates in modern titles — a 25% Time Spy lead typically translates to a 20–25% in-game lead.
Limitations
It does not include ray tracing (Port Royal does) or upscaling. A card with strong rasterization but weak RT can win Time Spy and lose path-traced Cyberpunk.
Where this matters
Categories that use 3dmark time spy score
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