Processor or CPU is stands for central processing unit. Processor is the heart of your PC. All the calculations, logic and controls done by this unit. It is not the big box standing next to your desktop monitor. It is a small chip that is attached to the motherboard. No matter your desktop computer has huge RAM memory or big Hard drive, if your Processor is slow , then all other things are useless. So always choose highest speed and multiple core processor. Other wise you can not do what you wish to do.
Power of Processor is measuring by clock speed. in nowadays unit of measure for clock speed is Gigahertz. choosing a right Processor depends on your work. For an example, if you use desktop or laptop for day today activity like internet surfing and work with documents then core i3 processor is more than enough. But if you are a programmer or a game player then you need minimum Core i5 or core i7 processor. Other wise you will experience slowness. you have to wait years until your code compile or until game load.
Keep in mind if you planning to upgrade your pc with higher version of Processor , then it should be compatible with your motherboard and bus speed. and also you have to keep Processor unit cooler as you can for use without damaging to it. Because higher Processing power always cause to heat up your Processor chip. So everything come up with a price. You can do a hack call over clocking for your existing processor but its not healthy way and again you have to do effort for cool down extra heat.
read more if you want to find about Processor -