DELL PowerEdge R740xd 2U rack server 2x Xeon Gold 6130 2.1GHz 16-core 256GB DDR4 24x 1.2TB SAS H730P

Dense storage compute

The PowerEdge R740xd is a 2U rack server built around two Xeon Gold 6130 processors running at 2.1 GHz with 16 cores each. It ships with 256 GB of DDR4 memory across eight 32 GB modules and a PERC H730P controller driving 24 bays populated with 1.2 TB 10K SAS drives. The platform targets software-defined storage clusters, virtual desktop infrastructure and service-provider workloads that need high capacity in a compact chassis.

SAS throughput ceiling

The H730P controller operates at 12 Gb/s over SAS and SATA links, so drive performance tops out at that interface speed rather than the flash media behind it. RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 are supported with a 2 GB cache backed by a battery, but the 10K rotational speed of the installed disks remains the practical limit for random IOPS. Network connectivity uses a quad-port daughter card with two 1 GbE and two 10 Gb SFP+ ports, so storage traffic shares the same 10 Gb uplinks as general data.

Hot-swap density implications

Twenty-four 2.5-inch bays fill the front panel, meaning every drive and both 1100 W power supplies can be swapped without tools or downtime. The included sliding rails and front bezel simplify rack installation, while iDRAC 9 Enterprise provides full out-of-band management over a dedicated port. Memory expansion stops at 3 TB across 24 slots, so configurations beyond the shipped 256 GB require additional registered ECC DDR4 modules.