Am I the only one who believes in squeezing every last drop of performance out of a system? The same way you squeeze every last drop of liquid out of cheese? If you squish cheese I mean? I realize most people don't squish cheese but I digress...
Seriously, if you can gain 4 FPS by buying significantly faster RAM, why wouldn't you? If we're talking about the difference between 56 and 60FPS, on a 60Hz monitor, that is HUGE. No more tearing, no more jerky framerate.
Same goes for buying the best GPU you can afford. Sure, the 980 might only buy you 10FPS (if THAT) over a 970. Don't you want those 10 frames? I know I do.
I see this as a hobby first, a pissing contest second, and a fun way to pass time third. For anybody else that sees it as a hobby, I can't understand stomaching anything but the best (provided you can afford it). What's the fun in gloating to your friend that you just bought a new midrange CPU and GPU? Seriously. There's no fun in that.
Where's the sense of omnipotence and superiority with midrange hardware? It's nowhere to be found. JM2C.