This computer was a pretty cheap build. Cost me $540 out of pocket(which took me a few months to save). The SSD was a gift given to me.
And yeah, our whole off topic area is filled with nerdiness like that.
AMD cpus are unfortunately not optimal for PCSX2, due to their relatively lower single threaded performance. Fortunately the sweet spot for most games is ~1600, that's where all but the most demanding games become playable(even if require tweaking) and my overclock gives me a little over that(1700).
Anyway, you can set async audio in config->audio-> plugin settings to stop the audio from stuttering. It will allow it to run independent of frame speed. It can cause some slight timing issues with voices though, so you may prefer it one way or the other. I usually use async.
And yeah, that's why I play games too. I am SO psyched for the Oculus Rift and related products.
I'm not exactly sure about the mech battle, my memory is fuzzy. It's been a year since I played it. Which reminds me, I'm guessing you do know about the glitched save points(Shion's room on the Woglinde, and the main save point on the Elsa) which kick you back to the BIOS. And the black and white cutscenes that don't show. You can force those cutscenes to show by savestating during one, then immediately loading. It will show the cutscene then, but in color, and with a small glitch box in the top left. Still, that's the only way to see them(unless that's been fixed). PS2 does black and white in a weird way, and GSdx doesn't like it.