My experience with ar's leads me to say, yes. Cheap ar15s seem to run fine. The keyhole stamp is still on the main parts and factory triggers suck across the board, quit knocking my bushmaster.
Mine cost a grand btw, based on the timing of the purchase. Right now probably less than $700. Add on a hand guard, grip, and a nice trigger and it's a nice rifle; less the noveske cool factor.
If I had better foresight, I would have bought two minis when jensens was still on fourth street. They used to have super tacticool police trades for $400.