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

Dell T160 vs HPE MicroServer Gen11

A specification-by-specification comparison of the Dell PowerEdge T160 and the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11, built from Dell’s and HPE’s own documents. 2 headline measures favour the T160, 1 favours the MicroServer Gen11, and 12 processors appear in both lists.

Bottom line. T160 leads on storage density. MicroServer Gen11 leads on AI and acceleration. Neither vendor publishes benchmarks for these machines, so every call here is made on what their documents state.

Dell PowerEdge T160 tower front: power button, status LED, USB 3.2 and iDRAC Direct ports above a full-height mesh panel, on rubber feet
Dell PowerEdge
T160
Tower1 socket4 DIMMiDRAC9
VS
HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 front: compact black chassis with green HPE badge, model lettering, four green status LEDs and two USB ports
HPE ProLiant
MicroServer Gen11
Ultra Micro Tower1 socket4 DIMMHPE iLO 6
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.

1
Processor sockets
1
12
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
12
0.125 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
0.125 TB
5Higher
Drive bays
4
None listed
Accelerators
HigherUp to 1
500 WHigher
Largest power supply
330 W
10 GbE class
Fastest network option
10 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 T160 if…

  • Drive bays: 5 against 4 on the MicroServer Gen11
  • Largest power supply: 500 W against 330 W on the MicroServer Gen11
  • Compact and quiet: 132.52 mm wide, 11.64 kg fully loaded, and measured at 28–29 dB at the bystander position in Dell’s idle and operating tests at 25 °C.

Choose the MicroServer Gen11 if…

  • Accelerators: Up to 1 against None listed on the T160
  • A 15.4 × 26.1 × 24.9 cm chassis weighing 8.52–8.65 kg that can lie flat, stand on end or mount on a brick, concrete or wooden wall.
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.

VirtualisationT160: 12 cores with 0.125 TB. MicroServer Gen11: 12 cores with 0.125 TB.Line ball
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 0.125 TB against 0.125 TB, across 4 and 4 DIMM slots.Line ball
Storage density5 bays in Tower against 4 in Ultra.T160
AI & accelerationno accelerators against 1 in the vendor documents.MicroServer Gen11
Network throughputFastest card listed: 10 GbE class against 10 GbE class.Line ball
04 — Specifications

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.

SpecificationT160MicroServer Gen11
Processors listed1912

Memory

SpecificationT160MicroServer Gen11
Fastest rated speed5,600 MT/s4,800 MT/s
Memory typesECC UDIMM DDR5-5600UDIMM DDR5-4800

Storage

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

SpecificationT160MicroServer Gen11
Maximum bays54
Documented layouts32
Bay sizes3.5-inch3.5-inch · 2.5-inch
Boot devicesBOSS-N1 (HW RAID, 2 x M.2 SSD; internal slot) · Internal USB 3.2 Gen1M.2 slot for M.2 SSD support, enabled by HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen11 iLO/NIC/M.2/COM Port Kit
Storage controllers54

Accelerators & I/O

SpecificationT160MicroServer Gen11
Accelerators supportedNone listedUp to 1

Power & platform

SpecificationT160MicroServer Gen11
Output range300–500 W180–330 W
ManagementiDRAC9HPE iLO 6
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet3U tower (mini-tower): height 332.5 mm with feet / 329.5 mm without9.82 in (24.9 cm)
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.

T160: processors by cores and TDP

Dell PowerEdge T160 processors08160 W50 W100 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6377P — 12 cores / 24 threads · 95 W · 3.1 GHz base · 36 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6369P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 95 W · 3.3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6357P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 80 W · 3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6353P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 65 W · 2.7 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6349P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 95 W · 3.6 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6337P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 80 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6333P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 65 W · 3.1 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6325P — 4 cores / 8 threads · 55 W · 3.5 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon 6315P — 4 cores / 4 threads · 55 W · 2.8 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2488 — 8 cores / 16 threads · 95 W · 3.2 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2478 — 8 cores / 16 threads · 80 W · 2.8 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2468 — 8 cores / 16 threads · 65 W · 2.6 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2486 — 6 cores / 12 threads · 95 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2456 — 6 cores / 12 threads · 80 W · 3.3 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2436 — 6 cores / 12 threads · 65 W · 2.9 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2434 — 4 cores / 8 threads · 55 W · 3.4 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Xeon E-2414 — 4 cores / 4 threads · 55 W · 2.6 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Pentium G7400 — 2 cores / 4 threads · 46 W · 3.7 GHz base · 6 MB cache · DDR5-4800Intel Pentium G7400T — 2 cores / 4 threads · 35 W · 3.1 GHz base · 6 MB cache · DDR5-48006377P12 cores · 7.9 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
Xeon 6300 9Xeon E-2400 8Pentium 2Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

MicroServer Gen11: processors by cores and TDP

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 processors08160 W50 W100 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6377P — 12 cores / 24 threads · 95 W · 3.1 GHz base · 16 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6369P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 95 W · 3.3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6357P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 80 W · 3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6353P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 65 W · 2.7 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6349P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 95 W · 3.6 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6337P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 80 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6333P — 6 cores / 12 threads · 65 W · 3.1 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6325P — 4 cores / 8 threads · 55 W · 3.5 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6315P — 4 cores / 8 threads · 55 W · 2.8 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2434 — 4 cores / 8 threads · 55 W · 3.4 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2414 — 4 cores / 4 threads · 55 W · 2.6 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Pentium G7400 — 2 cores / 4 threads · 46 W · 3.7 GHz base · 6 MB cache · DDR5-44006377P12 cores · 7.9 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
Xeon 6300 9Xeon E-2400 2Pentium 1Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

T160: memory with every slot filled

16 GB64 GB32 GB128 GB4 slots · 4 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

MicroServer Gen11: memory with every slot filled

16 GB64 GB32 GB128 GB4 slots · 4 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

T160: drive bays

Front panel

5 × 3.5" SAS/SATA + NVMe at the front — 5 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

MicroServer Gen11: drive bays

Front panel

4 × 3.5" SAS/SATA at the front — 4 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

T160: power supplies

0500300 W Bronze — 100-240 V AC, single cabled 120 mm PSU, no redundancy300DC500 W Platinum — 100-240 V AC, single cabled 120 mm PSU, no redundancy500PlatinumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC

MicroServer Gen11: power supplies

0500180 W null — HPE MicroServer Gen11 180W External Power Adapter; non-redundant external power adapter. Ships with a country-specific C5 power cord. C5 optional power cords are supported only with the 180W adapter.180DC330 W null — HPE MicroServer Gen11 330W External Power Adapter; non-redundant external power adapter. Required for processors above 65W. Ships with a country-specific C13 power cord.330DCWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC
06 — Like for like

12 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: 7 more are exclusive to the T160 and 0 to the MicroServer Gen11.

ProcessorCoresTDP
Intel Xeon 6377P1295 W
Intel Xeon 6369P895 W
Intel Xeon 6357P880 W
Intel Xeon 6353P865 W
Intel Xeon 6349P695 W
Intel Xeon 6337P680 W
Intel Xeon 6333P665 W
Intel Xeon 6325P455 W
Intel Xeon 6315P455 W
Intel Xeon E-2434455 W
Intel Xeon E-2414455 W
Intel Pentium G7400246 W
07 — Questions

T160 vs MicroServer Gen11, answered

Is the T160 or the MicroServer Gen11 the faster server?

Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The T160 lists 19 processors up to 12 cores at 95 W; the MicroServer Gen11 lists 12 up to 12 cores at 95 W. Fully populated that is 12 cores against 12.

Which holds more memory?

The T160 has 4 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 128 GB. The MicroServer Gen11 has 4 and 128GB.

Which takes more drives?

T160: 5 bays across 3 documented layouts. MicroServer Gen11: 4 across 2. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.

Can either take GPUs?

T160: no accelerator option in its document. MicroServer Gen11: up to 1, 0 double-wide listed.

Do they share any processors?

Yes — 12 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon 6377P. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.

Where these figures come from. T160: Dell PowerEdge T160 Technical Guide (August 2026, Rev. A06) (Dell document). MicroServer Gen11: HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 16 - 03-Aug-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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