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

Dell XE7740 vs HPE DL380a Gen12

A specification-by-specification comparison of the Dell PowerEdge XE7740 and the HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12, built from Dell’s and HPE’s own documents. 1 headline measure favours the XE7740, 3 favour the DL380a Gen12, and 3 processors appear in both lists.

Bottom line. XE7740 leads on AI and acceleration. DL380a Gen12 leads on virtualisation, databases and in-memory work, storage density. Neither vendor publishes benchmarks for these machines, so every call here is made on what their documents state.

Dell PowerEdge XE7740 front with eight E3.S drive bays and a BOSS-N1 boot module above twelve hot-swap GPU fans
Dell PowerEdge
XE7740
4U Rack2 sockets32 DIMMiDRAC10
Configure the XE7740 →Full data sheet
VS
HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 4U front with the bezel fitted, NVMe drive cages along the lower edge and the model badge on the right ear
HPE ProLiant
DL380a Gen12
4U Rack2 sockets32 DIMMHPE iLO 7
Configure the DL380a Gen12 →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.

2
Processor sockets
2
172
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
Higher288
4 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
Higher8 TB
8
Drive bays
Higher16
Up to 16Higher
Accelerators
Up to 10
3,200 W
Largest power supply
3,200 W
4U Rack
Rack height
4U Rack
400 GbE class
Fastest network option
400 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 XE7740 if…

  • Accelerators: Up to 16 against Up to 10 on the DL380a Gen12
  • Eight double-wide slots at up to 600 W accept five different cards — NVIDIA H100 NVL, H200 NVL, L40S and RTX Pro 6000, or Intel Gaudi 3 — or sixteen single-width L4s.

Choose the DL380a Gen12 if…

  • Cores, fully populated: 288 against 172 on the XE7740
  • Memory ceiling: 8 TB against 4 TB on the XE7740
  • Drive bays: 16 against 8 on the XE7740
  • Ten double-wide GPU positions in 4U, with the H200 NVL, RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, RTX PRO 6000D, L40S, L20 and L4 in HPE’s accelerator list.
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.

VirtualisationXE7740: 172 cores with 4 TB. DL380a Gen12: 288 cores with 8 TB.DL380a Gen12
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 4 TB against 8 TB, across 32 and 32 DIMM slots.DL380a Gen12
Storage density8 bays in 4U against 16 in 4U.DL380a Gen12
AI & acceleration16 accelerators against 10 in the vendor documents.XE7740
Network throughputFastest card listed: 400 GbE class against 400 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.

SpecificationXE7740DL380a Gen12
Processors listed332
Most cores per processor86144
Processor familiesXeon 6 P-coreXeon 6 E-core · Xeon 6 P-core

Memory

SpecificationXE7740DL380a Gen12
Largest module listed128 GB256 GB

Storage

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

SpecificationXE7740DL380a Gen12
Maximum bays816
Documented layouts12
Bay sizesE3.S2.5-inch · E3.S
Boot devicesBOSS-N1 DC-MHS (HW RAID 1, 2 x M.2 NVMe SSD)HPE NS204i-u v2 960GB NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · HPE NS204i-u v2 960GB NVMe SED Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · HPE NS204i-u v2 480GB NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device + 1 more
Storage controllers17

Accelerators & I/O

SpecificationXE7740DL380a Gen12
Accelerators supportedUp to 16Up to 10
Double-wide cards listed50
OCP slots12
PCIe network slots86
Network cards listed1136

Power & platform

SpecificationXE7740DL380a Gen12
ManagementiDRAC10HPE iLO 7
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet899.56 mm with bezel / 886.73 mm without bezel80.26 cm (31.60 in) deep
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.

XE7740: processors by cores and TDP

Dell PowerEdge XE7740 processors0816243240485664728088300 W350 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6 6787P — 86 cores / 172 threads · 350 W · 2 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6767P — 64 cores / 128 threads · 350 W · 2.4 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6747P — 48 cores / 96 threads · 330 W · 2.7 GHz base · 288 MB cache · DDR5-64006 6787P86 cores · 4.1 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
Xeon 6 P-core 3Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

DL380a Gen12: processors by cores and TDP

HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 processors081624324048566472808896104112120128136144150 W200 W250 W300 W350 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6780E — 144 cores · 330 W · 2.2 GHz base · 108 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6766E — 144 cores · 250 W · 1.9 GHz base · 108 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6756E — 128 cores · 225 W · 1.8 GHz base · 96 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6746E — 112 cores · 250 W · 2 GHz base · 96 MB cache · DDR5-5600Intel Xeon 6740E — 96 cores · 250 W · 2.4 GHz base · 96 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6710E — 64 cores · 205 W · 2.4 GHz base · 96 MB cache · DDR5-5600Intel Xeon 6787P — 86 cores · 350 W · 2 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6788P — 86 cores · 350 W · 2 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6767P — 64 cores · 350 W · 2.4 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6776P — 64 cores · 350 W · 2.3 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6760P — 64 cores · 330 W · 2.2 GHz base · 320 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6768P — 64 cores · 330 W · 2.4 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6747P — 48 cores · 330 W · 2.7 GHz base · 288 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6748P — 48 cores · 300 W · 2.5 GHz base · 192 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6740P — 48 cores · 270 W · 2.1 GHz base · 288 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6736P — 36 cores · 205 W · 2 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6732P — 32 cores · 350 W · 3.8 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6745P — 32 cores · 300 W · 3.1 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6737P — 32 cores · 270 W · 2.9 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6738P — 32 cores · 270 W · 2.9 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6730P — 32 cores · 250 W · 2.5 GHz base · 288 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6530P — 32 cores · 225 W · 2.3 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6527P — 24 cores · 255 W · 3 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6520P — 24 cores · 210 W · 2.4 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6728P — 24 cores · 210 W · 2.7 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6725P — 16 cores · 235 W · 3.7 GHz base · 192 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6724P — 16 cores · 210 W · 3.6 GHz base · 72 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6517P — 16 cores · 190 W · 3.2 GHz base · 72 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6515P — 16 cores · 150 W · 2.3 GHz base · 72 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6505P — 12 cores · 150 W · 2.2 GHz base · 48 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6714P — 8 cores · 165 W · 4 GHz base · 48 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6507P — 8 cores · 150 W · 3.5 GHz base · 48 MB cache · DDR5-64006780E144 cores — the top SKU6766E1.7 W/core — most efficient
Xeon 6 E-core 6Xeon 6 P-core 26Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

XE7740: memory with every slot filled

32 GB1 TB64 GB2 TB96 GB3 TB128 GB4 TB32 slots · 16 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

DL380a Gen12: memory with every slot filled

16 GB512 GB32 GB1 TB64 GB2 TB96 GB3 TB128 GB4 TB256 GB8 TB32 slots · 16 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

XE7740: drive bays

Front panel

8 × EDSFF NVMe at the front — 8 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

DL380a Gen12: drive bays

Front panel

4 × 2.5" NVMe at the front — 4 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

XE7740: power supplies

05001000150020002500300035002400 W Titanium — Mixed mode multi-capacity: 2400 W at 200-240 V AC, 1400 W at 100-120 V AC; 240 V DC (10.9 A). C19 cord. 8x 600 W DW GPUs not supported on 2400 W in 4+0/3+1 or 3+3 A/B-grid configurations (Table 27)2400Titanium3200 W Titanium — Mixed mode multi-capacity: 3200 W at 220.1-240 V AC (16 A), 2900 W at 200-220 V AC; 240 V DC (14.5 A). C19 cord. 73.5 mm form factor3200Titanium3200 W Titanium — 277 V AC (12.9 A) and 336 V DC HVDC (10.47 A); APP/Saf-D-Grid cable3200TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC277 VAC / HVDC

DL380a Gen12: power supplies

05001000150020002500300035002400 W Titanium — HPE M-CRPS family (Modular Common Redundant Power Supply); P67252-B21 named in the EU ErP Lot 9 section as 96% efficient; C19/C19-C20 power cords only; 2400W or 3200W required for H100 NVL / H200 NVL / RTX Pro 6000 GPUs2400Titanium2800 W Titanium — HPE M-CRPS family; 277VAC input unit (added in Version 16, 04-May-2026); no efficiency percentage or BTU figure printed for this unit2800Titanium3200 W Titanium — HPE M-CRPS family; P67248-B21 named in the EU ErP Lot 9 section as 96% efficient; C19/C19-C20 power cords only; 2400W or 3200W required for H100 NVL / H200 NVL / RTX Pro 6000 GPUs3200TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC277 VAC / HVDC
06 — Like for like

3 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 XE7740 and 29 to the DL380a Gen12.

ProcessorCoresTDP
Intel Xeon 6 6787P86350 W
Intel Xeon 6 6767P64350 W
Intel Xeon 6 6747P48330 W
07 — Questions

XE7740 vs DL380a Gen12, answered

Is the XE7740 or the DL380a Gen12 the faster server?

Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The XE7740 lists 3 processors up to 86 cores at 350 W; the DL380a Gen12 lists 32 up to 144 cores at 350 W. Fully populated that is 172 cores against 288.

Which holds more memory?

The XE7740 has 32 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 4 TB. The DL380a Gen12 has 32 and 8.0 TB.

Which takes more drives?

XE7740: 8 bays across 1 documented layouts. DL380a Gen12: 16 across 2. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.

Can either take GPUs?

XE7740: up to 16 accelerators, 5 double-wide cards listed. DL380a Gen12: up to 10, 0 double-wide listed.

Do they share any processors?

Yes — 3 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon 6 6787P. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.

Where these figures come from. XE7740: Dell PowerEdge XE7740 Technical Guide (Rev. A04, April 2026) (Dell document). DL380a Gen12: HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 QuickSpecs (Version 20 - 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.

Other comparisons in this class

XE7740 vs Compute XD690Dell vs HPEXE7740 vs XD685Dell vs HPEXE7740 vs SR680a V4Dell vs LenovoXE7740 vs SR650 V4Dell vs LenovoXE7745 vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEXE9685L vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEXE9785 vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEDL380a Gen12 vs SR675 V3HPE vs Lenovo

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