benchmark Last modified: Friday, March 01, 2002
A test used to compare performance of hardware and/or software. Many trade magazines have developed their own benchmark tests, which they use when reviewing a class of products. When comparing benchmark results, it is important to know exactly what the benchmarks are designed to test. A benchmark that tests graphics speed, for example, may be irrelevant to you if the type of graphical applications you use are different from those used in the test.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• Sponsored listings Health Economics Consulting Group - HECG provides research and expert consulting services in cost & outcomes studies, market & business analysis, and policy analysis. For internet.com pages about benchmark . Also check out the following links! Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) home page  Home page of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation, formed in 1988 to establish, maintain, and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks and metrics for performance evaluation of modern computer systems. System optimization information page  Contains information about system optimization of PC hardware, and benchmark comparisons of hundreds of different computer systems. The Benchmark Gateway  Top 20 list of various benchmarks, with links to benchmark organizations and resources. Tom's Hardware and Performance Guide  Provides performance, news, and information on mainboards, RAM, BIOS, hard drives, chipsets, CPU, and video. Benchmark Resources Site dedicated to benchmarks, benchmarking, and performance analysis. Benchmark score comparison surveys Provides download links for benchmark programs and information on how to submit benchmark results to this site. In addition, there are links to DOS, Windows, OS/2, and UNIX benchmark scores. BenchWeb Good starting point for locating information about computer system performance benchmarks, benchmark results, and benchmark code. This site is maintained at the University of Tennessee Computer Science Department by Innovative Computing Labs. IETF Benchmarking Methodology Working Group Charter Describes the IETF benchmarking methodology working group and includes contact and mailing list information and links to Internet drafts and Request for Comments documents. Pentium Performance Home page for a section of Intel's site dedicated to describing Pentium performance. Includes information about benchmark tests and results, and tips for maximizing performance. SPEC OSG FAQ Frequently asked questions about the Open Systems Group (OSG) part of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC), which is responsible for the SPEC95 benchmark tests. The Performance Database Server Provides an on-line catalog of public-domain computer benchmarks for Linpack, Dhrystone, Heapsort, SPEC, and many others. Also contains reports, papers and bibliographic information. Yahoo!'s hardware benchmarks page Yahoo!'s directory of hardware benchmark products, tools, guides, and standards.	Performance Programming Dhrystone Give Us Your Feedback Shopping benchmark Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Jewelry 491 Store Offers Tape Drives 10 Model Matches Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions 10 Model Matches