Dell XE9680L vs Lenovo SR780a V3
A specification-by-specification comparison of the Dell PowerEdge XE9680L and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR780a V3, built from Dell’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 1 headline measure favours the XE9680L, 2 favour the SR780a V3, and 4 processors appear in both lists.
Bottom line. SR780a V3 leads on storage density. 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 XE9680L if…
- Rack height: 4U Rack, Direct Liquid Cooled against 5U Rack on the SR780a V3
- Cold plates sit on the eight GPUs, the NVLink switches and both processors, and the chassis carries the 1000 W-per-GPU B200 board in 4U.
Choose the SR780a V3 if…
- Drive bays: 12 against 8 on the XE9680L
- Largest power supply: 3,200 W against 3,000 W on the XE9680L
- Direct water cooling on four independent loops — the CPUs, the four front GPUs, the four rear GPUs and the NVLink switches — removes up to 75% of the server’s heat, letting an eight-GPU HGX system fit in 5U rather than 8U.
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.
Memory
| Specification | XE9680L | SR780a V3 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory types | RDIMM DDR5-5600 (1DPC) / 4400 MT/s (2DPC) | RDIMM DDR5-5600 (10x4 RDIMM); 5600 at 1DPC (16 DIMMs), 4400 at 2DPC (32 DIMMs) |
Storage
Bay counts are the maximum each document states, including rear and mid-chassis positions.
| Specification | XE9680L | SR780a V3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum bays | 8 | 12 |
| Documented layouts | 1 | 2 |
| Boot devices | BOSS-N1 (2 x M.2 NVMe SSD, hardware RAID 1) | 2 x M.2 22110 NVMe in onboard connector (stacked); optional Intel VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) Standard for M.2 (BS7M) |
| Storage controllers | 1 | 2 |
Accelerators & I/O
| Specification | XE9680L | SR780a V3 |
|---|---|---|
| OCP slots | 1 | 0 |
| PCIe network slots | 12 | 11 |
| Network cards listed | 8 | 7 |
Power & platform
| Specification | XE9680L | SR780a V3 |
|---|---|---|
| Power-supply options | 2 | 3 |
| Output range | 2,800–3,000 W | 2,600–3,200 W |
| Management | iDRAC9 | XClarity Controller 2 |
| Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet | 174.3 mm H x 482 mm W (upper 2U 447 mm / lower 2U 434 mm) x 1037.57 mm D with bezel (1025.62 mm without | 942 mm |
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.
XE9680L: processors by cores and TDP
SR780a V3: processors by cores and TDP
XE9680L: memory with every slot filled
SR780a V3: memory with every slot filled
XE9680L: drive bays
Front panel
8 × 2.5" NVMe at the front — 8 bays in total.
SR780a V3: drive bays
Front panel
8 × 2.5" NVMe at the front — 8 bays in total.
XE9680L: power supplies
SR780a V3: power supplies
4 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: 1 more are exclusive to the XE9680L and 1 to the SR780a V3.
| Processor | Cores | TDP |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ | 64 | 350 W |
| Intel Xeon Platinum 8570 | 56 | 350 W |
| Intel Xeon Platinum 8568Y+ | 48 | 350 W |
| Intel Xeon Platinum 8562Y+ | 32 | 300 W |
XE9680L vs SR780a V3, answered
Is the XE9680L or the SR780a V3 the faster server?
Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The XE9680L lists 5 processors up to 64 cores at 350 W; the SR780a V3 lists 5 up to 64 cores at 350 W. Fully populated that is 128 cores against 128.
Which holds more memory?
The XE9680L has 32 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 4 TB. The SR780a V3 has 32 and 4 TB.
Which takes more drives?
XE9680L: 8 bays across 1 documented layouts. SR780a V3: 12 across 2. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.
Can either take GPUs?
XE9680L: up to 8 accelerators, 0 double-wide cards listed. SR780a V3: up to 8, 0 double-wide listed.
Do they share any processors?
Yes — 4 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.
Where these figures come from. XE9680L: Dell PowerEdge XE9680L Technical Guide (Rev. A04, June 2026) (Dell document). SR780a V3: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR780a V3 Server Product Guide (July 15, 2026) (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.
Other comparisons in this class
Talk to a UK specialist
Get expert advice or a no-obligation quote — servers, storage, networking, maintenance, finance and cloud. We reply the same working day.