Is it necessary? no.....but better system ability is based on clearing away bottlenecks or the slowest links in the system for the best performance. the best performance allows higher framerates at high resolutions, faster load times and more enjoyable experience in a general sense. anytime however you get into the top tier systems you are going to be wasting your money from a performance/cost perspective, but some people don't care. However, I remember when I used to multiplay against some of my friends, I could set my resolution ultra high and snipe incredibly fast with extreme precision, and there was nothing they could do about it. I'll admit it was the difference in our systems for a large part not that I was some super uber player. so, you decide if its worth it to you I guess. people buying premium ultra new gpu's for instance often buy more functionality then is actually often used, and have to put up with lousy drivers for awhile to boot that are flawed. it's all a crap shoot and worth it though to some. systems are way more then their Mhz cpu rating though thats for sure. salesmen will try to con you with the first thing they say of what 'speed' it is, but there's way more to it then that. that system Muffinman put up isn't to bad at all really.