All that is fine and dandy, but the RAM. These days RAM is so much more expensive! 4GB DDR3 is around $8-$10/GB. So his 24GB memory alone would cost around $200 at least.
This RAM was _insanely_ cheap :-)
* 5+ years old
* has a peak transfer rate that's only 40% of contemporary PC3-12800
As in, some people buy old clunker cars and fix them up as a hobby and also sometimes for cheapness.
Sure, they pollute more, get less MPG, etc. etc.
But they can be dirt cheap, and fun to restore if you like that kind of thing.