R730 vs R740 at a glance
| PowerEdge R730 / R730xd | PowerEdge R740 / R740xd | |
|---|---|---|
| Generation | 13th generation | 14th generation |
| Processors | Up to 2 × Xeon E5-2600 v3 / v4 | Up to 2 × Xeon Scalable, 1st or 2nd gen |
| Memory | 24 DDR4 slots, up to 2400 MT/s | 24 DDR4 slots, up to 2933 MT/s with 2nd gen CPUs |
| Memory channels per CPU | 4 | 6 |
| NVMe drives | Limited, through PCIe adapters | Front NVMe bays on suitable chassis |
| Boot drive option | Internal SD cards or a drive bay | BOSS card with two M.2 SSDs |
| Management | iDRAC8 | iDRAC9 |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
The xd versions (R730xd and R740xd) are the storage-heavy models of the same servers, with more drive bays, including 12 large 3.5" bays or 24 small 2.5" bays at the front.
Processors and memory
The R730 uses Xeon E5-2600 v3 and v4 processors, with up to 22 cores per CPU on the top v4 models. That is plenty for most small and mid-sized business work: file servers, Tally and ERP, Active Directory, and a handful of virtual machines.
The R740 moves to Xeon Scalable processors (Silver, Gold and Platinum), with up to 28 cores per CPU. The bigger change is memory: each CPU has 6 memory channels instead of 4, and memory runs faster. Databases, busy virtualization hosts and anything that reads and writes a lot of data in memory benefit the most.
Both servers have 24 memory slots and use DDR4 registered memory, but the memory itself is not always interchangeable: the R740 needs memory rated for its platform. Our server RAM guide explains how to size and populate memory.
Storage and NVMe
Both servers take enterprise SAS and SATA drives and SSDs in hot-swap trays, with Dell PERC hardware RAID controllers (for example the PERC H730 on the R730 and the H730P or H740P on the R740).
Where the R740 pulls ahead is NVMe: suitably configured R740 and R740xd chassis take NVMe SSDs directly in front bays, which is much faster than SATA or SAS for databases and VM storage. The R740 can also boot from a BOSS card with two mirrored M.2 SSDs, which keeps every front bay free for data.
For GPU work, the R740 supports more and larger graphics and compute cards than the R730, with the right risers and power supplies.
iDRAC and management
Both are managed through Dell's iDRAC remote management: iDRAC8 on the R730 and iDRAC9 on the R740. iDRAC9 has a faster, more modern web interface and a newer HTML5 remote console. With an Enterprise licence, both give you full remote console, virtual media and power control, so you can install and fix the server without visiting the rack.
Before you buy, check that BIOS, iDRAC and RAID firmware are updated to a stable release, and which iDRAC licence is installed.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the R730 or R730xd if
- Budget matters most and your workload is a file server, Tally or ERP server, domain controller, backup target or a small virtualization host.
- You need lots of storage at the lowest cost: an R730xd with 12 large bays makes a good backup or file server.
- You already run R730s and want spares and parts to match.
Choose the R740 or R740xd if
- You run databases, dense virtualization or anything that needs more memory bandwidth.
- You want NVMe storage, GPUs or a BOSS boot card.
- You want the newest platform you can get refurbished, with the longest support from software vendors. Check your operating system or hypervisor's hardware compatibility list for either model.
Not sure? Tell us what you plan to run and we will suggest a configuration. See our Dell R730 and R730xd page or read the refurbished server buying guide.
Common questions
Is the Dell R740 much faster than the R730?
For memory-heavy work such as databases and busy virtualization hosts, yes: it has 6 memory channels per CPU instead of 4, faster memory and more cores. For a file server or a small Tally or ERP server, an R730 is usually more than enough.
Can I use R730 memory in an R740?
Not always. Both use DDR4 registered memory, but the R740 needs memory supported on its platform. Check the part number before reusing modules.
What does "xd" mean in R730xd and R740xd?
The xd models are the storage-dense versions of the same servers, with more drive bays at the front and optional extra bays.
Do the R730 and R740 use the same drive trays?
Both use Dell hot-swap trays, but tray designs differ between generations. Ask for the correct trays with the server or the drives.