Geekbench is a very comprehensive benchmarking utility. It is a cross-platform tool that allows you to measure the performance of your computer. There are versions for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. This app runs a series of tests to check almost every major component of your PC. Then, it displays a result, which is an average of the scores of all the different tests.
When you first run the app, it will tell you that it is running in the 32-bit mode. You can purchase the app for only $12.99 if you need it to run in 64 bits. After you close that screen, you will see a window which shows your system information, including platform, operating system, model, and memory. You can start the process by clicking on "Run Benchmarks".
After the tests have been done, a new window will be displayed. It will show the score of each test along with some basic information about it. The top part of this report shows the summary of the benchmarking results. You can save the results or upload them to the Geekbench servers.
Geekbench runs best when no other applications are running, so make sure you quit every app before running it.
In short, Geekbench is one of the most popular benchmarking tools out there. It is more used on the Mac than on Windows from what I read, but I find it incredibly useful, in both platforms.
v2.4 [Nov 17, 2012]
Geekbench 2.4.0 is a free update for all Geekbench 2 customers and features the following improvements:
Added support for Mac mini (Late 2012).
Added support for iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation).
Added support for Nexus 4 and Nexus 10.
Added progress view to track benchmark progress on Android.
Added localizations on Android and iOS.
Removed the need to run Geekbench as root in order to gather accurate system information under Linux.
Improved support for Windows 8.
Improved support for Windows systems with more than 64 cores.
Improved support for systems with less than 512MB of memory.
Fixed a bug that misidentified the international iPhone 5.
Fixed a bug that caused benchmarks to cancel when the device was rotated on Android.
Disabled the idle timer that could cause the screen to sleep during benchmarks on iOS.
Refreshed results view design.
