Summary of Server Differences

If density of large form factor 3.5” drives is your most important need, the Dell PowerEdge R740xd2 is the server for you when compared to the Dell PowerEdge R740xd. The R740xd2 is more expensive than the R740xd, but you get an amazing 26x3.5” drives stuffed into a 2U chassis. There is also an option for 16x3.5” plus 10x2.5” for workloads that want to tier their storage. That extra storage does come at a price. You have to give up 8 memory slots, 3 PCI slots, and lose GPU support. With memory sizes increasing, having to give up a few slots may be worth it to get the drive density of the R740xd2.

On the other hand, if you do not need that crazy drive density, the R740xd is a still pretty dense server with a lot of power. It gives you 18x3.5” drives which is enough in a single server for many workloads. You save a good amount on the base chassis compared to the R740xd2 and can save more by using a larger number of smaller memory DIMMs. Most of our customers don’t need the extra connectivity of the R740, but it’s the clear winner if you need the 8 PCIe slots.
 

Dell PowerEdge R740xd

General Server Details:

• CPU(s): Up to 2 x Intel Xeon SP Multi Core
• Memory: 24 DIMM Slots (Max 3TB)
• RAID: PERC H330, PERC H730P 2GB NV, PERC H740P 8GB NV
• HDD: 2.5" or 3.5" Hot Swap SAS, SATA and Near Line SAS, NVMe SSD
• RISER: Up to 8 PCIe Slots (Gen 3 slots, max 4x x16 bandwidth)
• Power: 495W or 750W, 1100W, 1600W, and 2000W Hot Swap Redundant

Dell PowerEdge R740xd2

General Server Details:

• CPU(s): Up to 2 x Intel Xeon SP Multi Core
• Memory: 16 DIMM Slots (Max 1TB)
• RAID: HBA330, PERC H330, PERC H730P 2GB NV
• HDD: 2.5" or 3.5" Hot Swap SAS, SATA, and Near Line SAS
• RISER: Up to 5 PCIe Slots (Gen 3 slots, 3 x16 + 2 x4 bandwidth)
• Power: 750W, 1100W Hot Swap Redundant