DELL PowerEdge R540 12 Bay 3.5" 2U Rack Server 2x Xeon Gold 5118 2.3GHz 12 Core 512GB DDR4 H730P 12x 8TB HDDs

Dual Xeon Gold 5118 2U server

The Dell PowerEdge R540 is a 2U rack server built for expanding business and data centre environments. It carries two Intel Xeon Gold 5118 processors, each running at 2.3GHz with twelve cores and a 3.2GHz turbo frequency. The system includes 512GB of DDR4-2400 ECC registered memory across sixteen 32GB modules. A PERC H730P controller with 2GB cache manages twelve 3.5-inch drive bays populated with 8TB 7.2K SATA drives.

Virtualisation hosts and storage-heavy workloads

This configuration suits teams running virtualisation, software-defined storage or database applications that benefit from high core counts and large memory capacity. The twelve-bay chassis and hardware RAID controller support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 plus pass-through modes. Buyers who need a smaller form factor, fewer drive bays or a single-processor platform should consider other models.

Twelve 3.5-inch drive bays with H730P RAID

The single specification that decides fit is the twelve-bay 3.5-inch chassis paired with the PERC H730P controller. It determines how many drives you can install and which RAID levels are available without adding hardware. The server also includes dual-port Gigabit Ethernet, iDRAC 9 Express remote management and two 750W platinum power supplies. Front bezel and ready rails are not included.