DELL PowerEdge R740xd 24SFF 2x Xeon Gold 5218R 128GB DDR4 No Drive rack server

Dual Xeon Gold 5218R density

The Dell PowerEdge R740xd packs two Xeon Gold 5218R processors running at 2.1 GHz with 20 cores each into a 2U rack chassis. It ships with 128 GB of DDR4 ECC registered memory and supports expansion up to 3 TB for memory-intensive workloads. The PERC H730P RAID controller manages up to 24 hot-plug 2.5-inch SAS drive bays for flexible storage configurations. Integrated iDRAC9 Enterprise remote management enables full out-of-band administration.

Sustained compute throughput

Twenty cores per socket deliver consistent multi-threaded performance for virtualisation, database and analytics tasks that run for hours rather than seconds. The 27.5 MB cache per processor reduces latency during prolonged data access patterns. Dual 1100 W power supplies share the load evenly, maintaining stable voltage rails under continuous full utilisation. The 10 GbE 562T dual-port adapter keeps network pipelines saturated during extended replication or backup windows.

Thermal headroom and acoustics

Front-to-rear airflow across the 24-drive bay chassis keeps component temperatures within spec during normal operation. Fan speeds ramp gradually based on inlet temperature readings from iDRAC sensors rather than spiking on short bursts. Redundant power supplies operate at partial load, improving efficiency and reducing acoustic output compared with single-supply designs. The 2U form factor fits standard racks without requiring specialised cooling infrastructure.