Question Can I put a Micro-ATX motherboard in a standard ATX case?

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For that use, any recent CPU, either Intel or AMD, with integrated graphics will work.
Yes.

AMD integrated graphics do tend to be a bit better, but the best value I know is the R5 5600G which is a little pricier than the i3-12100, IIRC.

And the intel graphics are, once again, perfectly fine for your friend's use.