I hear you. It's a big jump in price, but somewhat negligible after the fact. I do like the 50* steering and Dynatrac hub upgrade as well.
I thought I read a post of Eddies where he said the 60 gear set wasn't up to running 40's, but maybe that was the semi-floater with the high pinion. I could be wrong, but was started questioning my decision after reading that. The Hardcore comes with a standard D60 profile low pinion full float called the Pro60.
IMO there's little point in going to a semi float 60. Yes you get the larger ring and pinion (over a 44) and a stronger housing, but the bent flange risk (probability, perhaps) remains. Also the weight of the rig remains on the axle shaft, so putting that together with a high HP engine swap risks axle breakage.
Per Dynatrac, the rings gear sizes are:
PR80 - 11.25
XD60 - 10.1
PR60 - 9.75
The XD is a high pinion, presumably to improve ground clearance. Ordinarily that's a weaker set up than standard cut. Maybe that's why they went to a larger ring gear.
The 80, with the massive ring gear and standard cut (and also larger housing, thicker shafts and pinion, etc), is going to be considerably stronger. Again, the choice for high speed and high HP. It sounds to me like you have your mind set on it, with "need" and "want" merging. Nothing wrong with that. If you have the means, you should get what you want, whether you "need" it or not. That way you will have no regrets.