My cheap Minecraft Rig for a friend!

[ojb99]

So, today my friend asked me if I could build him a computer. I then asked what he needed it for. He said he wanted it for two three things, basic school work like word processing, web browsing, and playing Minecraft. He then said he wanted a parts list a basic price put together, so that is what I have done. I was planning on just running Ubuntu in it, since I really don't need to spend the money on Windows. Plus, Ubuntu has LibreOffice or whatever its called so he can use that for basic word processing, plus Google Docs. I wanted to keep it under $500. Also, my friend doesn't know much about computers, so this thing doesn't need to be the latest and greatest, it just has to do what he wants it to do with no hassle. I just wanted to know if my current build will do the trick. Also, in my current list, I do not have a case. I would like a simple Micro ATX desktop case that looks good. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Im thinking about a cool mod to make it look like something from Minecraft, but I don't know. This is my part list:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3lCO2
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3lCO2/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3lCO2/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 455 3.3GHz Triple-Core Processor ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Team Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($72.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.12 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $380.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-03 22:17 EDT-0400)

Again, any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[combine1237]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($65.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($48.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($27.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $347.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-03 22:47 EDT-0400)

This will kick the other one into orbit when it comes to gaming. I like linux mint over ubuntuu.

 

[Gate9er]

Get 6 or even 4GB of RAM. 8 is an overkill. Also 650W are waaay to much. 450W would be more than enough. This is what I recommend.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3lEeE

 

[RazerZ]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $488.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-03 23:00 EDT-0400)

This will be a lot better than what you posted. Included a bigger PSU so your friend can upgrade later. If he doesn't plan on upgrading you can cut $35 from it.

Gaming on windows 8 will be a lot faster than linux.