DELL PowerEdge T430 5U rack server 2x Xeon E5-2690 v4 2.6GHz 14-core 16GB DDR4 H330 16x 2.5" bays 2x 750W PSU

Server purpose and audience

The Dell PowerEdge T430 is a 5U rack-mount server equipped with dual Intel Xeon E5-2690 v4 processors, each running at 2.6 GHz with 14 cores and a 3.5 GHz turbo frequency. It ships with 16 GB of DDR4 ECC registered memory across 12 DIMM slots, expandable to 384 GB. The PERC H330 storage controller manages up to sixteen 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays supporting SAS and SATA drives. Integrated dual-port Gigabit Ethernet and iDRAC 8 Express remote management come standard, powered by two redundant 750 W platinum power supplies.

Suitability and alternatives

This server suits organisations deploying virtualisation hosts, database engines, file services or backup targets that need dense 2.5-inch storage capacity and dual-socket compute in a 5U form factor. Buyers who require larger 3.5-inch drive bays, higher core counts per socket, or greater out-of-the-box memory capacity should evaluate other platforms. The fixed H330 controller also means those needing advanced RAID features or a different storage protocol must look elsewhere.

Deciding specification

The sixteen 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays backed by the PERC H330 controller define the storage ceiling for this chassis. If the workload demands more than sixteen drives, 3.5-inch media, or a controller with broader RAID support, this model will not meet the requirement.