Dell R7725 vs HPE DL385 Gen11
A specification-by-specification comparison of the Dell PowerEdge R7725 and the HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11, built from Dell’s and HPE’s own documents. 2 headline measures favour the R7725, 3 favour the DL385 Gen11, and 18 processors appear in both lists.
Bottom line. R7725 leads on virtualisation. DL385 Gen11 leads on storage density, AI and acceleration, network throughput. Neither vendor publishes benchmarks for these machines, so every call here is made on what their documents state.
The measures that decide it
Each row is a figure both vendors publish. Bars show the split between the two; a badge marks the larger figure, which is not always the better buy — a shallower chassis or a lower power ceiling can matter more.
Which one, and why
Drawn from the measures above and each model’s own data sheet. Neither vendor publishes benchmark results for these servers, so nothing here claims one is “faster”.
Choose the R7725 if…
- Cores, fully populated: 384 against 320 on the DL385 Gen11
- Largest power supply: 3,200 W against 2,200 W on the DL385 Gen11
- Up to 192 Zen5 cores per socket, with even the 500 W parts listed for air cooling — the 4th Gen EPYC R7625 in Dell’s comparison table stopped at 128 cores.
Choose the DL385 Gen11 if…
- Drive bays: 48 against 40 on the R7725
- Accelerators: Up to 8 against Up to 6 on the R7725
- Fastest network option: 400 GbE class against 200 GbE class on the R7725
- A dedicated GPU chassis takes four double-wide cards — 600 W H200 NVL and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell included — or eight single-wide L4s.
Where each one pulls ahead
Calls made on documented capacity only — cores, memory, bays, accelerators and network options — with the figures behind each one shown.
Side by side, differences first
Everything both documents state, grouped. The default view hides rows where the two machines are identical.
Processors
Every processor each vendor lists for the model, from its own document.
| Specification | R7725 | DL385 Gen11 |
|---|---|---|
| Processors listed | 20 | 39 |
| Most cores per processor | 192 | 160 |
| Highest processor TDP | 500 W | 400 W |
| Processor families | AMD EPYC 9005 | AMD EPYC 9004 · AMD EPYC 9005 |
| Single-processor option | No | Yes |
Memory
| Specification | R7725 | DL385 Gen11 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory types | RDIMM DDR5-6400 | RDIMM DDR5-4800 · RDIMM DDR5-6400 |
Storage
Bay counts are the maximum each document states, including rear and mid-chassis positions.
| Specification | R7725 | DL385 Gen11 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum bays | 40 | 48 |
| Documented layouts | 9 | 15 |
| Bay sizes | 2.5-inch · 3.5-inch · E3.S | 3.5-inch · 2.5-inch · E3.S |
| Boot devices | BOSS-N1 DC-MHS (RAID 0/1, 2 x M.2 NVMe 480 GB or 960 GB read-intensive) · Internal USB | HPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · HPE NS204i-u v2 480GB NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · HPE ProLiant DL3X5 Gen11 NS204i-u NVMe Hot Plug Boot Device Cable Kit + 2 more |
| Storage controllers | 5 | 10 |
Accelerators & I/O
| Specification | R7725 | DL385 Gen11 |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerators supported | Up to 6 | Up to 8 |
| Double-wide cards listed | 6 | 4 |
| Network cards listed | 16 | 30 |
Power & platform
| Specification | R7725 | DL385 Gen11 |
|---|---|---|
| Power-supply options | 11 | 5 |
| Output range | 800–3,200 W | 800–2,200 W |
| Management | iDRAC10 | HPE iLO 6 |
| Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet | 801.51 mm without bezel / 802.4 mm with bezel | SFF/EDSFF CTO 68.89 cm (27.12 in) |
Processors, memory, bays and power
The same charts each data sheet carries, drawn to the same scale so the two ranges can be read against each other.
R7725: processors by cores and TDP
DL385 Gen11: processors by cores and TDP
R7725: memory with every slot filled
DL385 Gen11: memory with every slot filled
R7725: drive bays
Front panel
40 × EDSFF NVMe at the front — 40 bays in total.
DL385 Gen11: drive bays
Front panel
48 × 2.5" SAS/SATA + NVMe at the front — 48 bays in total.
R7725: power supplies
DL385 Gen11: power supplies
18 processors you can order in either
Both vendor documents list these parts, so a build can be matched across the two and the comparison comes down to the chassis: 2 more are exclusive to the R7725 and 21 to the DL385 Gen11.
| Processor | Cores | TDP |
|---|---|---|
| AMD EPYC 9845 | 160 | 390 W |
| AMD EPYC 9825 | 144 | 390 W |
| AMD EPYC 9745 | 128 | 400 W |
| AMD EPYC 9655 | 96 | 400 W |
| AMD EPYC 9575F | 64 | 400 W |
| AMD EPYC 9555 | 64 | 360 W |
| AMD EPYC 9535 | 64 | 300 W |
| AMD EPYC 9455 | 48 | 300 W |
| AMD EPYC 9475F | 48 | 400 W |
| AMD EPYC 9375F | 32 | 320 W |
| AMD EPYC 9335 | 32 | 210 W |
| AMD EPYC 9355 | 32 | 280 W |
R7725 vs DL385 Gen11, answered
Is the R7725 or the DL385 Gen11 the faster server?
Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The R7725 lists 20 processors up to 192 cores at 500 W; the DL385 Gen11 lists 39 up to 160 cores at 400 W. Fully populated that is 384 cores against 320.
Which holds more memory?
The R7725 has 24 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 6 TB. The DL385 Gen11 has 24 and 6.0 TB.
Which takes more drives?
R7725: 40 bays across 9 documented layouts. DL385 Gen11: 48 across 15. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.
Can either take GPUs?
R7725: up to 6 accelerators, 6 double-wide cards listed. DL385 Gen11: up to 8, 4 double-wide listed.
Do they share any processors?
Yes — 18 processors appear in both documents, including the AMD EPYC 9845. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.
Where these figures come from. R7725: Dell PowerEdge R7725 Technical Guide (June 2026) (Dell document). DL385 Gen11: HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 47 - 08-Sep-2026) (HPE document). Each claim on this page is derived from those documents, checked page by page on the two data sheets, and carries no pricing.
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