Do you mind if I ask you why desktop and not notebook?

1 reason...price.

If you have a desktop and a laptop that have the same amount of memory, same processor, and same drive speed (7200 rpm), the laptop will almost always cost more.

And even if the machines are otherwise the same, but the laptop has the "standard" less expensive 5400 rpm drive, the laptop will still probably be faster.

Just generally speaking, if you have a desktop for $600, trying to get the same specs in a laptop will usually run a few hundred more.

The person I'm trying to help is a student on a limited budget, but wants to run the database tools that I've been teaching.