I was thinking Intel graphics. An after market SSD is way cheaper, it shaved heaps off the cost of my T430. It also means you are absolutely sure which model SSD you get, which OEMs won't necessarily tell you.
I'm not sure about maxing out the RAM. I ordered my T430 with 2GB of RAM, the minimum, and upgraded it myself. It was much cheaper than getting a decent amount of RAM from lenovo. I think 4GB should be OK for him, but RAM is cheap anyway.