Head-to-head · every figure from the vendor documents
HPE DL380 Gen11 vs HPE DL380 Gen12
A specification-by-specification comparison of the HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen11 and the HPE ProLiant Compute DL380 Gen12, built from HPE’s own documents. None of the headline measures favour the DL380 Gen11; 1 favour the DL380 Gen12, and they share no processors.
Bottom line. DL380 Gen12 leads on virtualisation. Neither vendor publishes benchmarks for these machines, so every call here is made on what their documents state.
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
128
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
Higher288
8 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
8 TB
36
Drive bays
36
Up to 8
Accelerators
Up to 8
2,200 W
Largest power supply
2,200 W
2U Rack
Rack height
2U 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 DL380 Gen11 if…
Five factory chassis — 8SFF, 24SFF, 8LFF, 12LFF and 12EDSFF — plus mid-tray and rear cages, so one model spans small SFF builds, 16 LFF bays and 36 EDSFF NVMe drives.
Choose the DL380 Gen12 if…
Cores, fully populated: 288 against 128 on the DL380 Gen11
Two Xeon 6 core types in one chassis: seven E-core parts of 64 to 144 cores for dense throughput, and 27 P-core parts of 8 to 86 cores for per-core speed.
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.
VirtualisationDL380 Gen11: 128 cores with 8 TB. DL380 Gen12: 288 cores with 8 TB.DL380 Gen12
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 8 TB against 8 TB, across 32 and 32 DIMM slots.Line ball
Storage density36 bays in 2U against 36 in 2U.Line ball
AI & acceleration8 accelerators against 8 in the vendor documents.Line ball
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.
Bay counts are the maximum each document states, including rear and mid-chassis positions.
Specification
DL380 Gen11
DL380 Gen12
Bay sizes
2.5-inch · 3.5-inch · E3.S
2.5-inch · E3.S · 3.5-inch
Boot devices
HPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · 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 + 2 more
HPE NS204i-u v2 480GB NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device · 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 + 3 more
Storage controllers
13
14
Accelerators & I/O
Specification
DL380 Gen11
DL380 Gen12
Double-wide cards listed
3
4
Power & platform
Specification
DL380 Gen11
DL380 Gen12
Management
HPE iLO 6
HPE iLO 7
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet
SFF CTO: 72.7 cm (28.62 in)
SFF/EDSFF CTO: 72.70 cm (28.62 in)
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.
DL380 Gen11: processors by cores and TDP
5th Gen Xeon Scalable 294th Gen Xeon Scalable 37Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU
DL380 Gen12: processors by cores and TDP
Xeon 6 E-core 7Xeon 6 P-core 27Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU
DL380 Gen11: memory with every slot filled
DL380 Gen12: memory with every slot filled
DL380 Gen11: drive bays
Front panel
12 × EDSFF NVMe at the front — 12 bays in total.
SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe
DL380 Gen12: drive bays
Front panel
12 × EDSFF NVMe at the front — 12 bays in total.
SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe
DL380 Gen11: power supplies
AC−48 V DC
DL380 Gen12: power supplies
AC−48 V DC
07 — Questions
DL380 Gen11 vs DL380 Gen12, answered
Is the DL380 Gen11 or the DL380 Gen12 the faster server?
Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The DL380 Gen11 lists 66 processors up to 64 cores at 385 W; the DL380 Gen12 lists 34 up to 144 cores at 350 W. Fully populated that is 128 cores against 288.
Which holds more memory?
The DL380 Gen11 has 32 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 8.0 TB. The DL380 Gen12 has 32 and 8.0 TB.
Which takes more drives?
DL380 Gen11: 36 bays across 13 documented layouts. DL380 Gen12: 36 across 13. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.
Can either take GPUs?
DL380 Gen11: up to 8 accelerators, 3 double-wide cards listed. DL380 Gen12: up to 8, 4 double-wide listed.
Do they share any processors?
No. The two documents list different processors, so a like-for-like processor build is not possible across these two.
Where these figures come from. DL380 Gen11: HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 47 - 08-Sep-2026) (HPE document). DL380 Gen12: HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen12 QuickSpecs (Version 19 - 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.