3DMark Time Spy has been the go-to GPU benchmark for years, and you'll see its scores in nearly every graphics card discussion. But the single headline "Time Spy score" people quote is actually a blend of two separate measurements — a graphics score and a CPU score — and conflating them leads to wrong comparisons. Knowing which number is your GPU's, and what the test actually stresses, lets you read Time Spy properly. This article breaks down the score and how to compare against it.
It's part of reading benchmark scores, and pairs with our explainer on the newer Steel Nomad benchmark that's replacing it.
What Time Spy Tests
Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark that runs a demanding rendered scene at 1440p, designed to stress a GPU under a modern API. It outputs three numbers: an overall score (a weighted blend), a graphics score (the GPU's performance), and a CPU score (a separate physics/simulation test of the processor).
Which Number Is Your GPU's
- Graphics score = the GPU: this is the number to compare when judging a graphics card. It's the most isolated measure of GPU performance Time Spy gives.
- CPU score = the processor: a separate test; useful context, but not a GPU measure.
- Overall score blends both: so a faster CPU can lift the overall score even with the same GPU — which is exactly why comparing overall scores across different systems misleads. Compare graphics scores for GPU-to-GPU.
How to Compare Against It
To judge a GPU, compare its graphics score against other cards' graphics scores — ideally tested on similar systems. Time Spy is a synthetic 1440p DX12 test, so it's a clean relative ranking of raster GPU power, useful for placing a card in the performance tiers. It does not measure ray-tracing (that's a separate workload), and as GPUs have grown very fast, Time Spy has begun to age — which is why newer benchmarks now sit alongside it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which 3DMark Time Spy score is the GPU score? The graphics score — that's the isolated measure of GPU performance and the number to compare between cards. The CPU score tests the processor separately, and the overall score blends both, so a faster CPU can inflate the overall figure with the same GPU.
What does Time Spy actually test? GPU raster performance under a DirectX 12 workload at 1440p. It's a synthetic test that gives a clean relative ranking of graphics power, but it doesn't measure ray tracing (a separate workload) and has begun to age as GPUs have grown very fast.
Why shouldn't I compare overall Time Spy scores? Because the overall score blends GPU and CPU results, so two systems with the same GPU but different CPUs post different overall scores. For a fair GPU-to-GPU comparison, use the graphics score, ideally from similar test systems.
The One Thing to Remember
Time Spy's headline number is a blend — to judge a GPU, use the graphics score, not the overall score (which a faster CPU inflates). It's a synthetic 1440p DX12 raster test, good for ranking GPU power but not for ray tracing, and it's beginning to age as cards get faster. Compare graphics-score to graphics-score, on similar systems, and you'll read it right.
Choosing a graphics card? Configure a gaming PC online → or talk to our team → and we'll place the GPU by real performance, not a blended score.