Dell PowerEdge R740xd 2U Rack Server

Dell PowerEdge R740xd Specifications

The R740xd is a 14th Generation (14G) Dell PowerEdge rack server optimized for storage-dense workloads, sharing the same processor and memory platform as the R740.

Specification	Details
Form Factor	2U Rack (storage-optimized)
Processors	1 or 2x Intel Xeon Scalable (Gen 1 and Gen 2)
Max Cores	28 per socket, 56 total
Memory Slots	24x DDR4 (12 per CPU, 6 channels per CPU)
Max Memory (RDIMM)	1.5 TB with 64 GB modules
Max Memory (LRDIMM)	3 TB with 128 GB modules
Memory Speed	Up to 2933 MT/s (1 DPC, 2nd Gen Xeon)
Front Drive Bays	24x 2.5" or 12x 3.5" (chassis dependent)
Mid-Bay Drives	Up to 4x 3.5" or 4x 2.5"
Rear Drive Bays	Up to 2x 3.5" or 4x 2.5"
Total Max Drives	32 (2.5") or 18 (3.5")
Universal Slots	12x 2.5" supporting SAS/SATA/NVMe interchangeably
RAID Controllers	S140 (SW), H330, H730P, H740P (8 GB NV cache), HBA330, H840 (external)
PCIe Slots	Up to 8x PCIe 3.0 (reduced in some storage configs)
Network	NDC with 1GbE, 10GbE, or 25GbE options
Management	iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller (Basic/Express/Enterprise)
Power Supply	Hot-swap 1+1 redundant (495W to 2400W)
GPU Support	Up to 3x 300W DW (24x 2.5" non-NVMe chassis only)
Boot Options	BOSS M.2 RAID1, IDSDM MicroSD, Internal USB 3.0, PXE
Dimensions	86.8mm (H) x 482mm (W) x 715.5mm (D)

The R740xd's universal drive slots are the key storage feature — 12 of the 24 front 2.5-inch bays accept SAS, SATA, or NVMe drives interchangeably, enabling mixed storage tiers (NVMe cache + SAS capacity) in a single chassis without separate backplanes.

R740xd Chassis Options at Enterasource

The Dell R740xd is available in multiple chassis configurations, each designed for different storage density requirements.

Chassis	Front Bays	Mid Bays	Rear Bays	Total Drives	Best For
24x2.5" SFF	24x 2.5" SAS/SATA	4x 2.5"	4x 2.5"	Up to 32	Maximum drive count, SDS, HCI
24x2.5" NVMe	24x 2.5" NVMe	—	—	24	All-flash, max IOPS
12+12 Universal	12x 2.5" SAS + 12x 2.5" NVMe	—	—	24	Tiered storage (NVMe cache + SAS data)
12x3.5" LFF	12x 3.5" SAS/SATA	4x 3.5"	2x 3.5" or 4x 2.5"	Up to 18	Bulk capacity, nearline, archival

All drives are hot-swappable. GPU support is available only on the 24x 2.5-inch non-NVMe chassis — mid-bay and rear-bay configurations typically preclude GPU installation due to riser space conflicts.

Every R740xd at Enterasource is configured to order. Select your chassis, processors, memory, drives, RAID controller, and networking, then our team assembles, tests, and ships your server with a 2-year warranty and free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.

Dell R740xd vs R740 — When to Choose Extended Storage

Both are 14th Generation 2U servers sharing the same processor, memory, iDRAC9, and RAID platform. The difference is storage capacity and GPU tradeoffs.

Feature	R740xd	R740
Max Front Drive Bays	24x 2.5" or 12x 3.5"	16x 2.5" or 8x 3.5"
Mid-Bay Drives	Up to 4x 3.5" or 4x 2.5"	None
Rear Drive Bays	Up to 2x 3.5" or 4x 2.5"	None
Total Max Drives	32 (2.5") or 18 (3.5")	16 (2.5") or 8 (3.5")
Max Raw Capacity	184+ TB	96 TB (3.5") or 61 TB (2.5")
Universal Slots	12 (NVMe/SAS/SATA mixed)	None
GPU Support	24x 2.5" non-NVMe chassis only	All chassis configurations
GPU + Mid/Rear Drives	Cannot have both	N/A
Processors	Same	Same
DIMM Slots / Max RAM	Same (24 / 3 TB)	Same (24 / 3 TB)
PCIe Slots	Up to 8 (reduced in some configs)	Up to 8

Choose the R740xd when storage capacity is the primary requirement — software-defined storage, data lakes, backup targets, and workloads needing more than 16 drive bays. The universal slots enable NVMe + SAS mixed tiering in a single chassis.

Choose the R740 when you need balanced compute, storage, and GPU expandability — virtualization with GPU passthrough, VDI, AI inference, and general-purpose workloads where 16 drive bays is sufficient and full GPU support in all chassis configurations is required.

R740xd for Software-Defined Storage

The R740xd is Dell's 14th Gen platform of choice for software-defined storage deployments that require high drive counts and mixed storage tiers.

Ceph: The R740xd's universal slots enable the ideal Ceph architecture in a single chassis. Use 12 NVMe drives in universal slots for the OSD journal/WAL tier and 12 SAS drives for the OSD data tier. With up to 32 drives, 3 TB RAM, and dual Xeon Scalable processors per node, each R740xd provides dense Ceph storage capacity.

Proxmox VE (Ceph and ZFS): Proxmox VE manages Ceph natively through its built-in pveceph tooling — cluster creation, OSD provisioning, monitors and the CRUSH map are all handled from the same web interface that runs the virtual machines, with no separate storage product to license. The R740xd suits it for the same reason it suits Ceph generally: the HBA330 presents drives raw, which is what both Ceph OSDs and ZFS vdevs require, and the twelve universal slots allow an NVMe WAL/DB tier and a SAS capacity tier in one chassis. Enterasource is an authorized Proxmox reseller and can supply the VE subscription and support with the nodes.

VMware vSAN: Dell certified the R740xd as a vSAN Ready Node. Universal slots support NVMe cache tier + SAS/SATA capacity tier in one server. All-flash vSAN configurations use the 24x NVMe chassis for maximum IOPS.

Dell VxFlex (ScaleIO): The R740xd is part of the VxFlex Ready Node program, supporting hyper-converged, storage-only, and compute-only node types with automated lifecycle management.

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct (S2D): The mixed NVMe + SAS configuration maps directly to S2D's tiered storage model — NVMe for cache, SAS for capacity.

Browse all Dell PowerEdge servers available at Enterasource.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Dell R740xd still worth buying?

Yes — the R740xd is worth buying specifically for storage-dense builds: software-defined storage, Ceph and vSAN nodes, backup targets, and data lakes. It carries up to 32 drives in a 2U chassis — 24 front 2.5-inch bays plus 4 mid-bay and 4 rear — and 12 of those front bays are universal slots that accept SAS, SATA or NVMe interchangeably, so an NVMe cache tier and a SAS capacity tier live in one server without separate backplanes. One tradeoff is real: GPU support requires the 24x 2.5-inch non-NVMe chassis, so you cannot have both GPUs and mid/rear drives. Choose the R740 instead if GPU expansion outranks drive count. The drive layout is configured to order, and every build includes a 2-year warranty.

How many drive bays does the Dell R740xd have?

The R740xd supports up to 32 total drives in a 2U chassis: 24 front 2.5-inch bays + 4 mid-bay 2.5-inch + 4 rear 2.5-inch. In 3.5-inch configurations, it supports up to 18 drives: 12 front + 4 mid-bay + 2 rear. Twelve of the 24 front 2.5-inch bays can be universal slots supporting SAS, SATA, or NVMe interchangeably.

What is the difference between the Dell R740 and R740xd?

Both are 14th Gen 2U servers with the same processors, memory, and management. The R740 supports up to 16x 2.5-inch or 8x 3.5-inch front drives with no mid/rear bays but full GPU support in all configurations. The R740xd extends storage to up to 24x 2.5-inch or 12x 3.5-inch front drives plus mid-bay and rear options for up to 32 total drives, with universal NVMe/SAS slots for tiered storage. GPU support on the R740xd requires the 24x 2.5-inch non-NVMe chassis.

What is the difference between the R740xd and R740xd2?

The R740xd supports up to 24x 2.5-inch or 12x 3.5-inch front drives. The R740xd2 is a separate model optimized for maximum 3.5-inch capacity — it supports up to 24x 3.5-inch front drives in a 2U chassis, nearly doubling the 3.5-inch drive count. Choose the R740xd for mixed 2.5-inch/NVMe storage. Choose the R740xd2 for extreme bulk storage and archival requiring maximum 3.5-inch density.

Is the Dell R740xd good for Ceph?

Yes. The R740xd is well-suited for Ceph deployments. Its universal slot support allows mixed NVMe + SAS configurations for Ceph's tiered storage architecture — NVMe drives for the OSD journal/WAL tier and SAS drives for the OSD data tier in a single chassis. With up to 32 drives, 3 TB RAM, and dual Xeon Scalable processors per node, the R740xd provides dense, cost-effective Ceph storage nodes.

What generation is the Dell R740xd?

The Dell PowerEdge R740xd is a 14th Generation (14G) server using 1st and 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors. The 13th Gen predecessor is the R730xd. The 15th Gen storage-oriented successor is the R750, which consolidates R740 and R740xd into one platform with up to 24 front bays.

Is the Dell R740xd compatible with VMware ESXi?

Yes. The R740xd is on the VMware Hardware Compatibility List and supports ESXi 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0. Dell certified the R740xd as a vSAN Ready Node. It includes Intel VT-x and VT-d for hardware-assisted virtualization, Dell Fault Resilient Memory mode for ESXi kernel protection, and BOSS card for dedicated hypervisor boot. Also compatible with Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Canonical Ubuntu Server, and Proxmox VE.

Is the Dell R740xd a good Proxmox VE and Ceph node?

Yes — it is the strongest Ceph and ZFS chassis in the 14th Gen line, and Proxmox VE manages Ceph natively rather than treating it as a separate licensed product. Specify the PERC HBA330 rather than an H730P or H740P: Ceph OSDs and ZFS vdevs need raw disk access, and a RAID controller hides the drives behind an abstraction that breaks both. The twelve universal slots then let a single node carry NVMe for the Ceph WAL and DB, or a ZFS special vdev, alongside SAS capacity drives, while BOSS M.2 RAID1 keeps the PVE root off the data pool entirely. Budget roughly one CPU core and at least 8 GiB of RAM per OSD on top of your VM workload; with up to 32 drives, 24 DIMM slots and 3 TB of RAM per node, a three-node R740xd cluster covers most self-hosted hyper-converged builds. VE subscriptions and support come from Enterasource directly as an authorized Proxmox reseller.

How much does a refurbished Dell R740xd cost?

Pricing for a refurbished Dell PowerEdge R740xd depends on the chassis configuration, processor selection, memory capacity, drive count, and storage type (SAS, SATA, or NVMe). Enterasource builds every R740xd to order with a 2-year warranty and free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.