Definition of Kips

Instructions per second (IPS) is a measure of a computer's processor speed. Many reported IPS values have represented "peak" execution rates on artificial instruction sequences with few branches, whereas realistic workloads consist of a mix of instructions and even applications, some of which take longer to execute than others. The performance of the memory hierarchy also greatly affects processor performance, an issue barely considered in MIPS calculations. Because of these problems, researchers created standardized tests such as SPECint to (maybe) measure the real effective performance in commonly used applications, and raw IPS has fallen into disuse.

In the United States, a kip is a unit of force that equals 1,000 pounds-force, used primarily by architects and engineers to measure engineering loads. It is also used as a unit of weight to compute shipping charges. It is equivalent to one half of a U.S. ton. Although uncommon, it is occasionally also considered a unit of mass, equal to 1,000 pounds.