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Head-to-head · every figure from the vendor documents

Dell R960 vs Lenovo SR860 V3

A specification-by-specification comparison of the Dell PowerEdge R960 and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V3, built from Dell’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 1 headline measure favours the R960, 3 favour the SR860 V3, and 10 processors appear in both lists.

Bottom line. SR860 V3 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.

Dell PowerEdge R960 4U front with 32 × 2.5-inch drive bays in four groups of eight, two central grilles, USB and VGA at right
Dell PowerEdge
R960
4U Rack4 sockets64 DIMMiDRAC9
Configure the R960 →Full data sheet
VS
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V3 4U front with 48 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays in six groups of eight, plus front VGA and USB ports
Lenovo ThinkSystem
SR860 V3
4U Rack4 sockets64 DIMMXClarity Controller 2
Configure the SR860 V3 →Full data sheet
01 — Scoreboard

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.

4
Processor sockets
4
240
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
240
16 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
16 TB
32
Drive bays
Higher48
Up to 4
Accelerators
HigherUp to 8
2,800 WHigher
Largest power supply
2,700 W
4U Rack
Rack height
4U Rack
100 GbE class
Fastest network option
Higher200 GbE class
02 — Verdict

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 R960 if…

  • Largest power supply: 2,800 W against 2,700 W on the SR860 V3
  • Four sockets with room for accelerators: the GPU riser layout takes four full-length double-wide cards, which the 2U R860 cannot.

Choose the SR860 V3 if…

  • Drive bays: 48 against 32 on the R960
  • Accelerators: Up to 8 against Up to 4 on the R960
  • Fastest network option: 200 GbE class against 100 GbE class on the R960
  • Forty-eight front bays in one chassis: all SAS/SATA, or 24 SAS/SATA plus 24 AnyBay with each AnyBay bay on its own Gen5 x4 NVMe link.
03 — By workload

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.

VirtualisationR960: 240 cores with 16 TB. SR860 V3: 240 cores with 16 TB.Line ball
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 16 TB against 16 TB, across 64 and 64 DIMM slots.Line ball
Storage density32 bays in 4U against 48 in 4U.SR860 V3
AI & acceleration4 accelerators against 8 in the vendor documents.SR860 V3
Network throughputFastest card listed: 100 GbE class against 200 GbE class.SR860 V3
04 — Specifications

Side by side, differences first

Everything both documents state, grouped. The default view hides rows where the two machines are identical.

Memory

SpecificationR960SR860 V3
Largest module listed256 GB128 GB
Memory typesRDIMM DDR5-4800 · RDIMM DDR5-5600RDIMM DDR5-4800 · 9x4 RDIMM · 3DS RDIMM

Storage

Bay counts are the maximum each document states, including rear and mid-chassis positions.

SpecificationR960SR860 V3
Maximum bays3248
Documented layouts72
Bay sizes2.5-inch · E3.S2.5-inch
Boot devicesBOSS-N1M.2 SATA/NVMe 2-Bay Enablement Kit (4Y37A09738) · M.2 SATA/x4 NVMe 2-Bay Adapter (4Y37A79663) · M.2 NVMe 2-Bay RAID Adapter (4Y37A09750) + 1 more
Storage controllers916

Accelerators & I/O

SpecificationR960SR860 V3
Accelerators supportedUp to 4Up to 8
Double-wide cards listed10
OCP slots12
PCIe network slots1218
Network cards listed1529

Power & platform

SpecificationR960SR860 V3
Power-supply options611
Output range1,100–2,800 W1,100–2,700 W
Input typesAC · −48 V DCAC · 277 VAC / HVDC · −48 V DC
ManagementiDRAC9XClarity Controller 2
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet883.195 mm with bezel / 869.195 mm without bezel906 mm
05 — The data

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.

R960: processors by cores and TDP

Dell PowerEdge R960 processors0816243240485664150 W200 W250 W300 W350 WCores per processorIntel Xeon Platinum 8490H — 60 cores / 120 threads · 350 W · 1.9 GHz base · 113 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8468H — 48 cores / 96 threads · 330 W · 2.1 GHz base · 105 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8460H — 40 cores / 80 threads · 330 W · 2.2 GHz base · 105 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8454H — 32 cores / 64 threads · 270 W · 2.1 GHz base · 83 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6448H — 32 cores / 64 threads · 250 W · 2.4 GHz base · 60 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8450H — 28 cores / 56 threads · 250 W · 2 GHz base · 75 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6418H — 24 cores / 48 threads · 185 W · 2.1 GHz base · 60 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6416H — 18 cores / 36 threads · 165 W · 2.2 GHz base · 45 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8444H — 16 cores / 32 threads · 270 W · 2.9 GHz base · 45 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6434H — 8 cores / 16 threads · 195 W · 3.7 GHz base · 23 MB cache · DDR5-48008490H60 cores · 5.8 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
4th Gen Xeon Scalable 10Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

SR860 V3: processors by cores and TDP

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V3 processors0816243240485664150 W200 W250 W300 W350 WCores per processorIntel Xeon Platinum 8490H — 60 cores / 120 threads · 350 W · 1.9 GHz base · 112.5 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8468H — 48 cores / 96 threads · 330 W · 2.1 GHz base · 105 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8460H — 40 cores / 80 threads · 330 W · 2.2 GHz base · 105 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8454H — 32 cores / 64 threads · 270 W · 2.1 GHz base · 82.5 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6448H — 32 cores / 64 threads · 250 W · 2.4 GHz base · 60 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8450H — 28 cores / 56 threads · 250 W · 2 GHz base · 75 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6418H — 24 cores / 48 threads · 185 W · 2.1 GHz base · 60 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6416H — 18 cores / 36 threads · 165 W · 2.2 GHz base · 45 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Platinum 8444H — 16 cores / 32 threads · 270 W · 2.9 GHz base · 45 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon Gold 6434H — 8 cores / 16 threads · 195 W · 3.7 GHz base · 22.5 MB cache · DDR5-48008490H60 cores · 5.8 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
4th Gen Xeon Scalable 10Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

R960: memory with every slot filled

16 GB1 TB32 GB2 TB64 GB4 TB96 GB6 TB128 GB8 TB256 GB16 TB64 slots · 16 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

SR860 V3: memory with every slot filled

16 GB1 TB32 GB2 TB64 GB4 TB96 GB6 TB128 GB8 TB64 slots · 16 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

R960: drive bays

Front panel

32 × 2.5" SAS/SATA at the front — 32 bays in total, with a dual-controller variant.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

SR860 V3: drive bays

Front panel

8 × 2.5" SAS/SATA at the front — 8 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

R960: power supplies

0500100015002000250030001100 W N/A (-48 V DC) — -(48-60) V DC input (LVDC), 27 A; 60 mm; LOTES APOW0097 cord1100DC1100 W Titanium — Mixed mode (100-240 V AC / 240 V DC); 1050 W at low line 100-120 V AC; 60 mm; C13 cord10501100Titanium1400 W Platinum — Mixed mode (100-240 V AC / 240 V DC); 1050 W at low line 100-120 V AC; 60 mm; C13 cord10501400Platinum1800 W Titanium — Mixed mode HLAC (200-240 V AC / 240 V DC); no low-line operation; 60 mm; C15 cord1800Titanium2400 W Platinum — Mixed mode (100-240 V AC / 240 V DC); 1400 W at low line 100-120 V AC; 86 mm14002400Platinum2800 W Titanium — Mixed mode HLAC (200-240 V AC / 240 V DC); no low-line operation; 86 mm2800TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC−48 V DC

SR860 V3: power supplies

0500100015002000250030001100 W Platinum — Platinum power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V/115V; max quantity 41100Platinum1100 W Titanium — Titanium power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V; max quantity 41100Titanium1300 W Platinum — Power supplies for customers in China only; input 230V/115V; CRPS; China only; max quantity 41300Platinum1300 W Platinum — Power supplies for customers in China only; input 230V/115V; CRPS; China only; max quantity 41300Platinum1600 W n/a (DC input) — Power supplies for customers in China only; input 336V HVDC; CRPS; China only; max quantity 41600DC1600 W n/a (DC input) — Power supplies for customers in China only; input -48V DC; CRPS; China only; max quantity 41600DC1800 W Platinum — Platinum power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V; max quantity 2 or 41800Platinum1800 W Titanium — Titanium power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V; max quantity 2 or 41800Titanium2400 W Platinum — Platinum power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V; max quantity 2 or 42400Platinum2600 W Titanium — Titanium power supplies (available in all markets); input 230V; max quantity 2 or 42600Titanium2700 W Platinum — Power supplies for customers in China only; input 230V; CRPS; China only; max quantity 42700PlatinumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC277 VAC / HVDC−48 V DC
06 — Like for like

10 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: 0 more are exclusive to the R960 and 0 to the SR860 V3.

ProcessorCoresTDP
Intel Xeon Platinum 8490H60350 W
Intel Xeon Platinum 8468H48330 W
Intel Xeon Platinum 8460H40330 W
Intel Xeon Platinum 8454H32270 W
Intel Xeon Gold 6448H32250 W
Intel Xeon Platinum 8450H28250 W
Intel Xeon Gold 6418H24185 W
Intel Xeon Gold 6416H18165 W
Intel Xeon Platinum 8444H16270 W
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H8195 W
07 — Questions

R960 vs SR860 V3, answered

Is the R960 or the SR860 V3 the faster server?

Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The R960 lists 10 processors up to 60 cores at 350 W; the SR860 V3 lists 10 up to 60 cores at 350 W. Fully populated that is 240 cores against 240.

Which holds more memory?

The R960 has 64 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 16 TB. The SR860 V3 has 64 and 16 TB.

Which takes more drives?

R960: 32 bays across 7 documented layouts. SR860 V3: 48 across 2. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.

Can either take GPUs?

R960: up to 4 accelerators, 1 double-wide cards listed. SR860 V3: up to 8, 0 double-wide listed.

Do they share any processors?

Yes — 10 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon Platinum 8490H. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.

Where these figures come from. R960: Dell PowerEdge R960 Technical Guide (December 2024, Rev. A05) (Dell document). SR860 V3: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V3 Server Product Guide (publication date is not printed in the text export) (Lenovo 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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