So you would recommend him to mine anyway ? What would be better for him, pool or solo ? Pool is easier I think. I don't know the other pools, but I'd recommend him Suprnova, because every time I mined for fun (it never brang me a penny of profit 
), this was where I went.
I never recommend mining unless you know the rules of CryptoFight Club... ), this was where I went.
A GPU rig is a GPU rig, good for certain algos only. As long as the assumption is that you could "get into mining" and end up with very little — or nothing at all — in the end.
For starters a pool would be the best thing, some pools are better than others, but that's up to individual trial/error. I've always thought solo mining should be a second step once familiar initially mining in a pool. Suprnova, Coinotron, others well known are fine to start, ymmv on some than others.
First thing to do is have a plan, stick with it, and ignore forum FUD otherwise you'll get nowhere fast.
BTW dual-core is ok, I was thinking RAM, sorry — 8GB w/dual core is fine, 1GB wouldn't be.
That's why I went at Suprnova, for the ease of use. Unlike the other pools, this one keep your earning in a wallet maintenaid by the pool, while the others do an auto-payout for each ETH mined.
