He didn't state a budget large enough where a SSD isn't a waste of money compared to the value of other upgrades. Shaving 2 seconds off boot or 8 off the opening of GIMP is nice, but not exactly earth-shattering.
His initial build was >$1k and included an $80 mouse. That's well within "premium computing" territory.
And I hate to be a dick about it, but for 99.9% of "gamers" that $80 mouse is a waste of ~$75, and represents money better spent elsewhere.
Personally, I have no trouble beating the averages in MMOs with a $15 mouse and an HP keyboard I stole from the spares bin at work. There are enough n00bs out there to make me look good, and fun is fun whether I win or lose. Maybe it's a different story for competitive FPSes, but I still think it's mostly psychosomatic - the internet s the slowest link in the chain, by far.