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

HPE DL20 Gen11 vs Lenovo SR250 V3

A specification-by-specification comparison of the HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 V3, built from HPE’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 2 headline measures favour the DL20 Gen11, 2 favour the SR250 V3, and 17 processors appear in both lists.

Bottom line. DL20 Gen11 leads on virtualisation. SR250 V3 leads on storage density, AI and acceleration. Neither vendor publishes benchmarks for these machines, so every call here is made on what their documents state.

HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 4SFF front: blanked optical bay, four hot-plug SFF bays, iLO service and USB ports, NS204i-u bay, front fan assembly
HPE ProLiant
DL20 Gen11
1U Rack1 socket4 DIMMHPE iLO 6
Configure the DL20 Gen11 →Full data sheet
VS
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 V3 1U front with four 3.5-inch hot-swap drive bays, front VGA, two USB ports and the operator panel
Lenovo ThinkSystem
SR250 V3
1U Rack1 socket4 DIMMXClarity Controller 2
Configure the SR250 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.

1
Processor sockets
1
12Higher
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
8
0.125 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
0.125 TB
6
Drive bays
Higher8
None listed
Accelerators
HigherUp to 1
1,000 WHigher
Largest power supply
800 W
1U Rack
Rack height
1U Rack
25 GbE class
Fastest network option
25 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 DL20 Gen11 if…

  • Cores, fully populated: 12 against 8 on the SR250 V3
  • Largest power supply: 1,000 W against 800 W on the SR250 V3
  • Compact: HPE lists a depth of 37.84 cm for the SFF chassis and 38.22 cm for the LFF one, at 4.32 cm high and 43.46 cm wide.

Choose the SR250 V3 if…

  • Drive bays: 8 against 6 on the DL20 Gen11
  • Accelerators: Up to 1 against None listed on the DL20 Gen11
  • At 561 mm deep and 43 mm high it suits shallow comms-room cabinets, and Lenovo offers a two-post screw-in rail kit alongside its four-post rails.
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.

VirtualisationDL20 Gen11: 12 cores with 0.125 TB. SR250 V3: 8 cores with 0.125 TB.DL20 Gen11
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 0.125 TB against 0.125 TB, across 4 and 4 DIMM slots.Line ball
Storage density6 bays in 1U against 8 in 1U.SR250 V3
AI & accelerationno accelerators against 1 in the vendor documents.SR250 V3
Network throughputFastest card listed: 25 GbE class against 25 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.

SpecificationDL20 Gen11SR250 V3
Most cores per processor128
Processor familiesXeon 6300 · Xeon E-2400 · PentiumPentium · Xeon E-2400 · Xeon 6300

Memory

SpecificationDL20 Gen11SR250 V3
Fastest rated speed4,800 MT/s5,600 MT/s
Memory typesUDIMM DDR5-4800 (ECC, Unbuffered)ECC UDIMM DDR5-5600 · ECC UDIMM DDR5-4800

Storage

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

SpecificationDL20 Gen11SR250 V3
Maximum bays68
Documented layouts46
Boot devicesHPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device (2 x 480GB M.2 NVMe SSD, hardware RAID1) · M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs (480GB P80318-B21 / 960GB P80321-B21 / 960GB SED P80327-B21 / 1.92TB P80324-B21) - require HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 LP Serial Port/iLO/M.2 Enablement Kit P65407-B21; M.2s are not supported by HPE Smart Array controllersM.2 SATA/x4 NVMe 2-Bay Adapter (4Y37A79663) · M.2 RAID B540i-2i SATA/NVMe Adapter (4Y37A90063)
Storage controllers64

Accelerators & I/O

SpecificationDL20 Gen11SR250 V3
Accelerators supportedNone listedUp to 1
OCP slots10
PCIe network slots12
Network cards listed168

Power & platform

SpecificationDL20 Gen11SR250 V3
Power-supply options72
Output range290–1,000 W800–800 W
Input typesAC · −48 V DCAC
ManagementHPE iLO 6XClarity Controller 2
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet37.84 cm / 15.25 in deep (SFF)—
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.

DL20 Gen11: processors by cores and TDP

HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 processors08160 W50 W100 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6377P — 12 cores · 95 W · 3.1 GHz base · 36 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6369P — 8 cores · 95 W · 3.3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6357P — 8 cores · 80 W · 3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6353P — 8 cores · 65 W · 2.7 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6349P — 6 cores · 95 W · 3.6 GHz base · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6337P — 6 cores · 80 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6333P — 6 cores · 65 W · 3.1 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6325P — 4 cores · 55 W · 3.5 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6315P — 4 cores · 55 W · 2.8 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2488 — 8 cores · 95 W · 3.2 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2478 — 8 cores · 80 W · 2.8 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2468 — 8 cores · 65 W · 2.6 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2486 — 6 cores · 95 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2456 — 6 cores · 80 W · 3.3 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2436 — 6 cores · 65 W · 2.9 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2434 — 4 cores · 55 W · 3.4 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2414 — 4 cores · 55 W · 2.6 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Pentium G7400 — 2 cores · 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 8Pentium 1Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

SR250 V3: processors by cores and TDP

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 V3 processors080 W50 W100 WCores per processorIntel Pentium G7400 — 2 cores · 46 W · 3.7 GHz base · 6 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Pentium G7400T — 2 cores · 35 W · 3.1 GHz base · 6 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2488 — 8 cores · 95 W · 3.2 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2478 — 8 cores · 80 W · 2.8 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2468 — 8 cores · 65 W · 2.6 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2486 — 6 cores · 95 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2456 — 6 cores · 80 W · 3.3 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2436 — 6 cores · 65 W · 2.9 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2414 — 4 cores · 55 W · 2.6 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon E-2434 — 4 cores · 55 W · 3.4 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6369P — 8 cores · 95 W · 3.3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6357P — 8 cores · 80 W · 3 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6353P — 8 cores · 65 W · 2.7 GHz base · 24 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6349P — 6 cores · 95 W · 3.6 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6337P — 6 cores · 80 W · 3.5 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6333P — 6 cores · 65 W · 3.1 GHz base · 18 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6315P — 4 cores · 55 W · 2.8 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400Intel Xeon 6325P — 4 cores · 55 W · 3.5 GHz base · 12 MB cache · DDR5-4400E-24888 cores — the top SKUE-24688.1 W/core — most efficient
Pentium 2Xeon E-2400 8Xeon 6300 8Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

DL20 Gen11: memory with every slot filled

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

SR250 V3: memory with every slot filled

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

DL20 Gen11: drive bays

Front panel

4 × 2.5" SAS/SATA at the front — 4 bays in total.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

SR250 V3: drive bays

Front panel

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

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

DL20 Gen11: power supplies

05001000290 W null — HPE DL20 Gen11 290W ATX FIO PS Kit; factory-integrated only, cannot be ordered standalone. Requires ATX enablement kit (P65409-B21 is itself listed as the ATX FIO PSU kit; Standard Features also cites P65409-B21 as the 'ATX PSU FIO Enable Kit' required when using ATX power supplies).290DC290 W Platinum — HPE DL20 Gen10 Plat 290W FIO Power Supply Kit; power efficiency at 92% single output. Listed in Standard Features only, not in Step 2c.290Platinum290 W Platinum — HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 Plus 290W FIO Power Supply Kit; 94% efficiency, multi-output; meets EU Lot 9.290Platinum500 W Platinum — HPE 500W Flex Slot Platinum Hot Plug Low Halogen Power Supply Kit; power efficiency at 94% single output.500Platinum800 W Platinum — HPE 800W Flex Slot -48VDC Platinum Hot Plug Low Halogen Power Supply Kit; supports power efficiency of up to 94% and 96%. Listed in Standard Features only, not in Step 2c.800Platinum800 W Titanium — HPE 800W Flex Slot Titanium Hot Plug Low Halogen Power Supply Kit; power efficiency at 96% single output; meets EU Lot 9.800Titanium1000 W Titanium — HPE 1000W Flex Slot Titanium Hot Plug Power Supply Kit; power efficiency at 96% single output; meets EU Lot 9.1000TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC−48 V DC

SR250 V3: power supplies

05001000800 W Platinum — input 230V/115V; CRPS; max quantity 2800Platinum800 W Titanium — input 230V/115V; CRPS; max quantity 2800TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC
06 — Like for like

17 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 DL20 Gen11 and 1 to the SR250 V3.

ProcessorCoresTDP
Intel Xeon 6369P895 W
Intel Xeon 6357P880 W
Intel Xeon 6353P865 W
Intel Xeon E-2488895 W
Intel Xeon E-2478880 W
Intel Xeon E-2468865 W
Intel Xeon 6349P695 W
Intel Xeon 6337P680 W
Intel Xeon 6333P665 W
Intel Xeon E-2486695 W
Intel Xeon E-2456680 W
Intel Xeon E-2436665 W
07 — Questions

DL20 Gen11 vs SR250 V3, answered

Is the DL20 Gen11 or the SR250 V3 the faster server?

Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The DL20 Gen11 lists 18 processors up to 12 cores at 95 W; the SR250 V3 lists 18 up to 8 cores at 95 W. Fully populated that is 12 cores against 8.

Which holds more memory?

The DL20 Gen11 has 4 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 128GB. The SR250 V3 has 4 and 128 GB.

Which takes more drives?

DL20 Gen11: 6 bays across 4 documented layouts. SR250 V3: 8 across 6. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.

Can either take GPUs?

DL20 Gen11: no accelerator option in its document. SR250 V3: up to 1, 0 double-wide listed.

Do they share any processors?

Yes — 17 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon 6369P. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.

Where these figures come from. DL20 Gen11: HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 28 - 08-Sep-2026) (HPE document). SR250 V3: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 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.

Other comparisons in this class

R260 vs DL20 Gen11Dell vs HPER260 vs SR250 V3Dell vs LenovoR360 vs DL20 Gen11Dell vs HPER360 vs SR250 V3Dell vs Lenovo

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