diff --git a/tests/Makefile.am b/tests/Makefile.am
index 4cf093c462..8ad8cb86bd 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile.am
+++ b/tests/Makefile.am
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ LAT = lat
 
 endif
 
-noinst_PROGRAMS = $(LAT) spidey_bench mass_elements
+noinst_PROGRAMS = $(LAT) spidey_bench mass_elements complexity
 
 AM_CFLAGS = $(GST_OBJ_CFLAGS)
 LIBS = $(GST_OBJ_LIBS)
diff --git a/tests/bench-complexity.scm b/tests/bench-complexity.scm
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..985d0ae530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/bench-complexity.scm
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# -*- scheme -*-
+exec guile -s $0 "$@"
+!#
+
+;; Quick hack to make some data files that gnuplot can read from
+;; complexity. Guile 1.6.
+
+(use-modules (srfi srfi-13)
+             (srfi srfi-1)
+             (ice-9 optargs)
+             (ice-9 popen))
+
+(define *phases* '(create set run destroy))
+
+(define (read-lines port)
+  (let lp ((lines '()))
+    (let ((x (read-line port)))
+      (if (eof-object? x)
+          (begin
+            (close-port port)
+            (reverse! lines))
+          (lp (cons x lines))))))
+
+(define (parse-time str)
+  (and (char-numeric? (string-ref str 0))
+       (fold (lambda (x ret) (+ (* ret 60) x)) 0
+             (map (lambda (x) (with-input-from-string x read))
+                  (string-split str #\:)))))
+
+(define (run-test program . args)
+  (format #t "; running test: ~a\n" (cons program args))
+  (map
+   cons
+   *phases*
+   (filter-map
+    parse-time 
+    (read-lines
+     (open-input-pipe
+      (string-join (map object->string (cons program args)) " "))))))
+
+(define (seq start stop step)
+  (let lp ((n start) (out '()))
+    (if (> n stop)
+        (reverse! out)
+        (lp (+ n step) (cons n out)))))
+
+(define (run-tests n-elements)
+  (let lp ((x 1) (out '()))
+    (if (> x n-elements)
+        (reverse! out)
+        (lp (* x 2)
+            (acons x (run-test "./complexity" x n-elements) out)))))
+
+(define (output-results results)
+  (let ((p (open-output-file "complexity.data")))
+    (display "#complexity creation state-change run destroy\n" p)
+    (for-each
+     (lambda (line)
+       (display (car line) p)
+       (for-each
+        (lambda (t) (format p " ~a" t))
+        (map cdr (cdr line)))
+       (newline p))
+     results)
+    (close-port p)))
+
+(output-results
+ (apply run-tests (map string->number (cdr (program-arguments)))))
diff --git a/tests/benchmarks/complexity.c b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..703aa3230a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.c
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2004 Benjamin Otte <otte@gnome.org>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free
+ * Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+ */
+
+#include <gst/gst.h>
+
+#define BUFFER_COUNT (1000)
+#define SRC_ELEMENT "fakesrc"
+#define SINK_ELEMENT "fakesink"
+
+
+static GstClockTime
+gst_get_current_time (void)
+{
+  GTimeVal tv;
+
+  g_get_current_time (&tv);
+  return GST_TIMEVAL_TO_TIME (tv);
+}
+
+gint
+main (gint argc, gchar * argv[])
+{
+  GstElement *pipeline, *src, *e;
+  GSList *saved_src_list, *src_list, *new_src_list;
+  guint complexity_order, n_elements, i, j, max_this_level;
+  GstClockTime start, end;
+  gboolean all_srcs_linked;
+
+  gst_init (&argc, &argv);
+
+  if (argc != 3) {
+    g_print ("usage: %s COMPLEXITY_ORDER N_ELEMENTS\n", argv[0]);
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  complexity_order = atoi (argv[1]);
+  n_elements = atoi (argv[2]);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+
+  pipeline = gst_element_factory_make ("pipeline", NULL);
+  g_assert (pipeline);
+
+  e = gst_element_factory_make ("fakesrc", NULL);
+  g_object_set (e, "num-buffers", BUFFER_COUNT, NULL);
+  g_object_set (e, "silent", TRUE, NULL);
+  gst_bin_add (GST_BIN (pipeline), e);
+  src_list = saved_src_list = g_slist_append (NULL, e);
+
+  new_src_list = NULL;
+
+  max_this_level = 1;
+  j = 0;
+  i = 0;
+  all_srcs_linked = FALSE;
+  for (i = 0, j = 0; i < n_elements; i++, j++) {
+    if (j >= max_this_level) {
+      g_slist_free (saved_src_list);
+      saved_src_list = g_slist_reverse (new_src_list);
+      new_src_list = NULL;
+      j = 0;
+      all_srcs_linked = FALSE;
+      max_this_level *= complexity_order;
+    }
+
+    if (!src_list) {
+      if (j)
+        all_srcs_linked = TRUE;
+      src_list = saved_src_list;
+    }
+
+    src = (GstElement *) src_list->data;
+    src_list = src_list->next;
+
+    if (i + max_this_level < n_elements)
+      e = gst_element_factory_make ("tee", NULL);
+    else
+      e = gst_element_factory_make ("fakesink", NULL);
+    g_object_set (e, "silent", TRUE, NULL);
+    new_src_list = g_slist_prepend (new_src_list, e);
+
+    gst_bin_add (GST_BIN (pipeline), e);
+    if (gst_element_link (src, e) != GST_PAD_LINK_OK)
+      g_assert_not_reached ();
+  }
+
+  g_slist_free (saved_src_list);
+  g_slist_free (new_src_list);
+
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - creating and linking %d elements\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start), i);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  if (gst_element_set_state (pipeline, GST_STATE_PLAYING) != GST_STATE_SUCCESS)
+    g_assert_not_reached ();
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - setting pipeline to playing\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start));
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  while (gst_bin_iterate (GST_BIN (pipeline)));
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - putting %u buffers through\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start), BUFFER_COUNT);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_object_unref (pipeline);
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - unreffing pipeline\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start));
+
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/tests/benchmarks/complexity.gnuplot b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.gnuplot
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5cb1a338ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.gnuplot
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+set terminal postscript landscape monochrome dashed "Helvetica" 14
+set xlabel "Number of Forks Per Tee"
+set ylabel "Seconds"
+set logscale x
+set title "Complex Pipeline Performance: N Forks per Tee, 1024 Elements"
+plot "complexity.data" using 1:2 title "Element creation", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:3 title "State change", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:4 title "Processing 1000 buffers", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:5 title "Element destruction"
diff --git a/tests/benchmarks/complexity.scm b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.scm
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..985d0ae530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/benchmarks/complexity.scm
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# -*- scheme -*-
+exec guile -s $0 "$@"
+!#
+
+;; Quick hack to make some data files that gnuplot can read from
+;; complexity. Guile 1.6.
+
+(use-modules (srfi srfi-13)
+             (srfi srfi-1)
+             (ice-9 optargs)
+             (ice-9 popen))
+
+(define *phases* '(create set run destroy))
+
+(define (read-lines port)
+  (let lp ((lines '()))
+    (let ((x (read-line port)))
+      (if (eof-object? x)
+          (begin
+            (close-port port)
+            (reverse! lines))
+          (lp (cons x lines))))))
+
+(define (parse-time str)
+  (and (char-numeric? (string-ref str 0))
+       (fold (lambda (x ret) (+ (* ret 60) x)) 0
+             (map (lambda (x) (with-input-from-string x read))
+                  (string-split str #\:)))))
+
+(define (run-test program . args)
+  (format #t "; running test: ~a\n" (cons program args))
+  (map
+   cons
+   *phases*
+   (filter-map
+    parse-time 
+    (read-lines
+     (open-input-pipe
+      (string-join (map object->string (cons program args)) " "))))))
+
+(define (seq start stop step)
+  (let lp ((n start) (out '()))
+    (if (> n stop)
+        (reverse! out)
+        (lp (+ n step) (cons n out)))))
+
+(define (run-tests n-elements)
+  (let lp ((x 1) (out '()))
+    (if (> x n-elements)
+        (reverse! out)
+        (lp (* x 2)
+            (acons x (run-test "./complexity" x n-elements) out)))))
+
+(define (output-results results)
+  (let ((p (open-output-file "complexity.data")))
+    (display "#complexity creation state-change run destroy\n" p)
+    (for-each
+     (lambda (line)
+       (display (car line) p)
+       (for-each
+        (lambda (t) (format p " ~a" t))
+        (map cdr (cdr line)))
+       (newline p))
+     results)
+    (close-port p)))
+
+(output-results
+ (apply run-tests (map string->number (cdr (program-arguments)))))
diff --git a/tests/complexity.c b/tests/complexity.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..703aa3230a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/complexity.c
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2004 Benjamin Otte <otte@gnome.org>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free
+ * Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+ */
+
+#include <gst/gst.h>
+
+#define BUFFER_COUNT (1000)
+#define SRC_ELEMENT "fakesrc"
+#define SINK_ELEMENT "fakesink"
+
+
+static GstClockTime
+gst_get_current_time (void)
+{
+  GTimeVal tv;
+
+  g_get_current_time (&tv);
+  return GST_TIMEVAL_TO_TIME (tv);
+}
+
+gint
+main (gint argc, gchar * argv[])
+{
+  GstElement *pipeline, *src, *e;
+  GSList *saved_src_list, *src_list, *new_src_list;
+  guint complexity_order, n_elements, i, j, max_this_level;
+  GstClockTime start, end;
+  gboolean all_srcs_linked;
+
+  gst_init (&argc, &argv);
+
+  if (argc != 3) {
+    g_print ("usage: %s COMPLEXITY_ORDER N_ELEMENTS\n", argv[0]);
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  complexity_order = atoi (argv[1]);
+  n_elements = atoi (argv[2]);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+
+  pipeline = gst_element_factory_make ("pipeline", NULL);
+  g_assert (pipeline);
+
+  e = gst_element_factory_make ("fakesrc", NULL);
+  g_object_set (e, "num-buffers", BUFFER_COUNT, NULL);
+  g_object_set (e, "silent", TRUE, NULL);
+  gst_bin_add (GST_BIN (pipeline), e);
+  src_list = saved_src_list = g_slist_append (NULL, e);
+
+  new_src_list = NULL;
+
+  max_this_level = 1;
+  j = 0;
+  i = 0;
+  all_srcs_linked = FALSE;
+  for (i = 0, j = 0; i < n_elements; i++, j++) {
+    if (j >= max_this_level) {
+      g_slist_free (saved_src_list);
+      saved_src_list = g_slist_reverse (new_src_list);
+      new_src_list = NULL;
+      j = 0;
+      all_srcs_linked = FALSE;
+      max_this_level *= complexity_order;
+    }
+
+    if (!src_list) {
+      if (j)
+        all_srcs_linked = TRUE;
+      src_list = saved_src_list;
+    }
+
+    src = (GstElement *) src_list->data;
+    src_list = src_list->next;
+
+    if (i + max_this_level < n_elements)
+      e = gst_element_factory_make ("tee", NULL);
+    else
+      e = gst_element_factory_make ("fakesink", NULL);
+    g_object_set (e, "silent", TRUE, NULL);
+    new_src_list = g_slist_prepend (new_src_list, e);
+
+    gst_bin_add (GST_BIN (pipeline), e);
+    if (gst_element_link (src, e) != GST_PAD_LINK_OK)
+      g_assert_not_reached ();
+  }
+
+  g_slist_free (saved_src_list);
+  g_slist_free (new_src_list);
+
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - creating and linking %d elements\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start), i);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  if (gst_element_set_state (pipeline, GST_STATE_PLAYING) != GST_STATE_SUCCESS)
+    g_assert_not_reached ();
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - setting pipeline to playing\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start));
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  while (gst_bin_iterate (GST_BIN (pipeline)));
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - putting %u buffers through\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start), BUFFER_COUNT);
+
+  start = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_object_unref (pipeline);
+  end = gst_get_current_time ();
+  g_print ("%" GST_TIME_FORMAT " - unreffing pipeline\n",
+      GST_TIME_ARGS (end - start));
+
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/tests/complexity.gnuplot b/tests/complexity.gnuplot
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5cb1a338ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/complexity.gnuplot
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+set terminal postscript landscape monochrome dashed "Helvetica" 14
+set xlabel "Number of Forks Per Tee"
+set ylabel "Seconds"
+set logscale x
+set title "Complex Pipeline Performance: N Forks per Tee, 1024 Elements"
+plot "complexity.data" using 1:2 title "Element creation", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:3 title "State change", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:4 title "Processing 1000 buffers", \
+     "complexity.data" using 1:5 title "Element destruction"