3Ghz is much better than 1.8Ghz right?

Wrong, this used to be the case a few years ago, but as usual things have changed dramatically in the computer world.

Several years ago, Intel came out with the Core 2 Duo (has it really been that long!) It was a major shift in the "more Gigahertz is better" mantra Intel had been pushing for many years.

Intel were hitting the upper limit of both heat and frequency leakage when they got to their 3.6Ghz Pentium 4 monsters which could roast a small chicken off of its heat sink. They did what all the great computer companies of our time have done and copied their rivals idea. Reducing the frequency and power, increasing efficiency by using multiple cores (multiple processors) on a single chip as well as increasing the cache size.

Its OK, as a business person or decision maker, your job is to make sure you hire good people who do understand this stuff. The CPU world changes on a daily basis and its hard enough for I.T professionals who spend 8 hours a day and have a passion for computers to keep up.

When in doubt go on price. You get 80% of the current high end processor performance for about 30% of the price, so aim for that level whenever buying PC equipment and you won't have a problem.

I doubt many reading this will buy a processor separately from a PC so keep in mind that spending $1500 to $2000 on a desktop PC will get you a decent performing business computer with a good size LCD screen.