Quick benchmark test: Futuremark 3DMark TimeSpy

The new Synthetic DirectX 12 benchmark with 20 cards tested

Since 1998 gamers have turned to 3DMark benchmarks to see the latest advances in real-time graphics made possible with each new version of DirectX. Futuremark is excited to share the first iteration of 3DMark Time Spy, the new DirectX 12 benchmark test.





Time Spy is a new DirectX 12 benchmark test, available as DLC right now on Steam, coming soon to all Windows editions of 3DMark. With its pure DirectX 12 engine, built from the ground up to support new features like asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading, Time Spy is the ideal benchmark for testing the DirectX 12 performance of the latest graphics cards. Developed with input from AMD, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and the other members of the Futuremark Benchmark Development Program, Time Spy shows the exciting potential of low-level, low-overhead APIs like DirectX 12.





All existing 3DMark Basic and Advanced users have limited access to "Time Spy," existing 3DMark Advanced users have the option of unlocking the full feature-set of "Time Spy" with an upgrade key that's priced at US $9.99. The price of 3DMark Advanced for new users has been revised from its existing $24.99 to $29.99, as new 3DMark Advanced purchases include the fully-unlocked "Time Spy." Futuremark announced limited-period offers that last up till 23rd July, in which the "Time Spy" upgrade key for existing 3DMark Advanced users can be had for $4.99, and the 3DMark Advanced Edition (minus "Time Spy") for $9.99.

Futuremark 3DMark "Time Spy" has been developed with inputs from AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Microsoft, and takes advantage of the new DirectX 12 API. For this reason, the test requires Windows 10. The test almost exponentially increases the 3D processing load over "Fire Strike," by leveraging the low-overhead API features of DirectX 12, to present a graphically intense 3D test-scene that can make any gaming/enthusiast PC of today break a sweat. It can also make use of several beyond-4K display resolutions.



Example result of the GeForce GTX 1070



The new DLC test can be purchased for 5 bucks at Steam right now, and instantly activates. After installation you'll get a few new options available. We'll run a selection of graphics cards ranging from low to enthusiast class. For Nvidia we'll use the new GeForce 368.81 WHQL driver (download) and for AMD the new AMD Radeon Software Crimson 16.7.2 driver (download). We use the default test, DX12 and ASYNC (if supported by the GPU) thus are enabled.

First off, let's have a look at AMD versus Nvidia on the modern cards and see whether or not ASYNC on/off will make a substantial difference:



The score listed is the GPU score, not the weighed CPU+GPU score. As you can see for Pascal GPUs, there indeed is a measurable ASYNC performance, very interesting. However anything not Pascal, thus with Older generation cards like Fermi and Maxwell, that advantage vanishes. The Maxwell GPUs are supposed to be capable of Async Compute, but it hasn’t been enabled since the Maxwell GM2xx GPUs don’t have dynamic load balancing. AMD obviously is happy with anything ASYNC and GCN related, obviously that works out well for them.

Below we tested 20 cards with the new Time Spy DX12 test. This is the weighed score (default result).

All cards are reference editions or have reference clock frequencies applied. Keep in mind that custom board partner cards could boost a score with 10 to 20% depending on what you purchased. We test in our default graphics card test platform, that would be a X99 motherboard with Core i7 5960X (all cores at 4.4 GHz) running Windows 10 (x64) all patched and updated.