A benchmark is the act of running computer programs in order to assess the performance of computer hardware and software applications. Hardware benchmarking assesses many different attributes such as the performance of the processor, memory, graphics card, hard disk, and the network.
The use of benchmark software enables system testers and users to obtain an objective and independent way of assessing the performance of hardware. By making changes to the system, users can determine whether there has been an improvement in the performance of that hardware. The results from benchmark software can help make important decisions about any necessary changes to the hardware to identify any bottlenecks in the system. However, it should be borne in mind that benchmarks are not always precise and can be open to manipulation by hardware developers who can design hardware to do particularly well in specific tests which are not replicated generally.
http://www.linuxlinks.com/portal/news/article.php?story=2012042905322423