Rule #2: Buy a computer that runs the software you want as fast as you want it to run.

Question: Why would anyone EVER buy a computer that they’re going to hate?

Answer: Because they didn’t know, or didn’t anticipate what the system’s true capabilities were in terms of real-world performance.

If you’re one of the people that hates your computer because it’s “too slow,” then I would like to sympathize with you, but sadly, I’m not sure I really can. If it was an honest mistake, meaning some event in your life drastically changed your computing needs, that’s one thing. But the vast majority of the time people who hate their computer because it’s “too slow” caused their own pain by trying to save a couple hundred bucks when they bought the system, and chintzed on core hardware specifications.

Seriously, is a couple hundred bucks worth cursing your computer for the next five years because it’s too slow every time you use it? Is saving a couple hundred bucks worth the aggravation of lowering your own productivity and enjoyment on something that you will use almost daily?

It continues to astound me how often people consistently buy a computer with hardware that is insufficient for their true needs. Sure, often times computer speed feels relative; what’s “fast enough” for me isn’t even close to “fast enough” for the guy or gal next door. Yet some people seem to forget that time is a completely objective standard of measuring productivity. A computer that boots up in thirty seconds is faster than a computer that boots up in forty-five, or sixty. A computer that can render your Photoshop pictures in five seconds is faster than one that does it in fifteen. A computer that can load Web content an average of a second faster than another computer saves a second of your life for every click of the mouse. Don’t discount how much those lost seconds add up over the course of the three, four, five years you’ll own the computer.

Don’t underestimate the real costs in time of not buying a computer with the right hardware, for the right software, for the right user. Now, to some degree, the ever-increasing specifications of hardware on computers is a good thing for consumers. There’s a good bet that you can go into any friendly local computer retailer, and pick something off the shelf that will reasonably meet your needs.

But DON’T fall for the trap of letting the sales rep set your boundaries for you. Is the default hard drive really going to be big enough, or do you need one slightly larger? You don’t think you’ll ever see the benefit of getting a faster processor or more RAM right from the start, but how much more optimal will your computing experience be if you do? THIS is the biggest thing I see people do to themselves–sacrifice their ideal computing experience, an experience they’ll love and enjoy for the next three to five years with their computer, simply to save a couple hundred bucks–and then complain to anyone and everyone how much they hate their computer.

Sometimes people dislike using a computer because they simply haven’t learned enough about how it works to fully enjoy the experience, which is another issue all by itself. But sometimes, it’s just because they didn’t by a system that could do what they needed it to in the first place.