The performance metric reported by TPC-C measures the number of orders that can be fully processed per minute and is expressed in tpm-C.
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As an OLTP system benchmark, TPC-C simulates a complete environment where a population of terminal operators executes transactions against a database. The benchmark is centered around the principal activities (transactions) of an order-entry environment. These transactions include entering and delivering orders, recording payments, checking the status of orders, and monitoring the level of stock at the warehouses. However, it should be stressed that it is not the intent of TPC-C to specify how to best implement an Order-Entry system. While the benchmark portrays the activity of a wholesale supplier, TPC-C is not limited to the activity of any particular business segment, but, rather, represents any industry that must manage, sell, or distribute a product or service.
With this sort of benchmark, it is not just the CPU that is being measured. I believe that manufacturers usually pay for TPC benchmarking of a specific system configuration.
The TPC publish the results