Not really, just like a beginner painter using the finest unicorn-hair brushes or whatever would not be able to paint the Mona Lisa, "gaming" hardware gives a v

Not really, just like a beginner painter using the finest unicorn-hair brushes or whatever would not be able to paint the Mona Lisa, "gaming" hardware gives a very marginal benefit, that is better taken advantage of when you actually have the game skill. For all but the highest ranks, it does not make much of an actual difference. Most games have some sort of skill ceiling, or at least narrow bands of clustered players. Hardware will put you slightly above competitors of the same cluster, but will not by itself enable you to climb to the next cluster. This is evident in cross-platform games, where in casual or non-professional competitive play, a good console player can still beat a slightly less good fully-geared PC player, despite the 30fps and controller "handicaps".