Quote Originally Posted by Arkhana View Post
A benchmark can take a variety of forms. They could release a Character Creation benchmark then.
It was already confirmed it would come before shortly before ARR releases.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...809-27-2012%29

A: We’ll have two benchmarks. The first will be available before the Beta test starts so that players can see if their PC specs meet the requirements for FFXIV:ARR. The second one will be released just before the game launches and will be bundled with character creation software.
Yes they come in all forms but it's been confirmed which is which and when.