Recently i found that it is much harder to decipher on what great processing power is. I thought that once you get an i-series processor from intel then you are most likely sorted with something exceptional. I got myself an i5 computer. I thought that it was good but i did not really notice a difference compared to my dual core laptop. So i felt that i may have been a little mislead or i did not really know what machine to get. What would you recommend is a great processor.
No, what probably happened is that you got a great processor but didn't take advantage of its extra processing power. Most users could get by with an Intel Celeron processor as long as they have enough RAM. If you're just playing basic games and browsing the Web or streaming media, then you're wasting the potential of the i5 processor. Even playing some heavier games won't test the processor in some cases, because GPUs have become more important than CPUs. To answer your question, though, the absolute best CPU is the top-tier unlocked Core i7 for desktops from Intel.
I think new processors are coming out every few months, so they rapidly become cheaper and a bit less obsolete. In my opinion a mid-tier processor would more than suffice for most purposes. An intel i7 as stated would be a nice choice.