Emulator

It is true that a processor of a ps3 is more powerful than the processors top line for pc?

That's relative. For example, Pentium IV HT have 2 threads on 1 single core up to 3.x GHz; however, the technology on Pentium IV was so obsolete that those 3.x GHz aren't perceptible enough to compare with a 2012 CPU.

The PS3 have a 8 cores CPU up to 3.2 GHz designed by IBM to SONY specially to the process that the PS3 uses; besides the speed is close to the Pentium IV for sure the Cell Engine of the PS3 is much more complex and fast but at the same time the PS3 CPU is designed for specific process and logical, that limitation close the power if it is compared to a PC CPU.

However, when we talk about console emulation on a PC we need an high ended CPU because the console process must be redirected by some codes to a specific part and most of those parts goes to CPU and that's why Virgil says a 10x powerful CPU is needed.

So, to answer your initial question i guess that a CPU powerful enough to emulate PS3 games will be something like an Intel Core i7 extreme after years and years of work on the emu code but i have my doubts about full speed. The part i didn't understand on emulation scene is why emulator's codes redirect all process to the PC CPU instead redirect to the specific part that have to work on it like the GPU or the sound card.