/bench-ˌmärk/
[techspeak]
n. An inaccurate measure of computer performance.
"In the computer industry, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and benchmarks."
Well-known ones include Whetstone, Dhrystone, Rhealstone (see h), the Gabriel LISP benchmarks (see gabriel), the SPECmark suite, and LINPACK.
See also machoflops, MIPS.