Head-to-head · every figure from the vendor documents
HPE DL380a Gen11 vs Lenovo SR650 V3
A specification-by-specification comparison of the HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3, built from HPE’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 1 headline measure favours the DL380a Gen11, 3 favour the SR650 V3, and 40 processors appear in both lists.
Bottom line. DL380a Gen11 leads on network throughput. SR650 V3 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.
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
128
3 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
Higher8 TB
8
Drive bays
Higher40
Up to 8
Accelerators
Up to 8
2,200 W
Largest power supply
Higher2,600 W
2U Rack
Rack height
2U Rack
400 GbE classHigher
Fastest network option
200 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 DL380a Gen11 if…
Fastest network option: 400 GbE class against 200 GbE class on the SR650 V3
Four double-wide or eight single-wide accelerators in a 2U chassis, with six NVIDIA and Intel cards in HPE’s GPU table spanning the 72 W L4 to the 400 W H100 NVL.
Choose the SR650 V3 if…
Memory ceiling: 8 TB against 3 TB on the DL380a Gen11
Drive bays: 40 against 8 on the DL380a Gen11
Largest power supply: 2,600 W against 2,200 W on the DL380a Gen11
Three drive zones — front, mid-chassis and rear — take the 2U chassis to 40 × 2.5-inch or 20 × 3.5-inch bays, and up to 36 NVMe drives can each run on a dedicated x4 link with no oversubscription.
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.
VirtualisationDL380a Gen11: 128 cores with 3 TB. SR650 V3: 128 cores with 8 TB.SR650 V3
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 3 TB against 8 TB, across 24 and 32 DIMM slots.SR650 V3
Storage density8 bays in 2U against 40 in 2U.SR650 V3
AI & acceleration8 accelerators against 8 in the vendor documents.Line ball
Network throughputFastest card listed: 400 GbE class against 200 GbE class.DL380a Gen11
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.
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet
81.6 cm / 32.13 in deep (server)
766 mm
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.
DL380a Gen11: processors by cores and TDP
4th Gen Xeon Scalable 235th Gen Xeon Scalable 18Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU
SR650 V3: processors by cores and TDP
5th Gen Xeon Scalable 324th Gen Xeon Scalable 52Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU
DL380a Gen11: memory with every slot filled
SR650 V3: memory with every slot filled
DL380a Gen11: drive bays
Front panel
8 × EDSFF NVMe at the front — 8 bays in total.
SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe
SR650 V3: drive bays
Front panel
24 × 2.5" SAS/SATA at the front — 24 bays in total.
SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe
DL380a Gen11: power supplies
AC
SR650 V3: power supplies
AC−48 V DC
06 — Like for like
40 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 DL380a Gen11 and 44 to the SR650 V3.
Processor
Cores
TDP
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8592+
64
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8580
60
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8480+
56
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8570
56
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8470
52
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8468
48
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8468V
48
330 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8568Y+
48
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8558
48
330 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8458P
44
350 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8460Y+
40
300 W
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8452Y
36
300 W
07 — Questions
DL380a Gen11 vs SR650 V3, answered
Is the DL380a Gen11 or the SR650 V3 the faster server?
Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The DL380a Gen11 lists 41 processors up to 64 cores at 350 W; the SR650 V3 lists 84 up to 64 cores at 385 W. Fully populated that is 128 cores against 128.
Which holds more memory?
The DL380a Gen11 has 24 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 3.0 TB. The SR650 V3 has 32 and 8 TB.
Which takes more drives?
DL380a Gen11: 8 bays across 2 documented layouts. SR650 V3: 40 across 20. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.
Can either take GPUs?
DL380a Gen11: up to 8 accelerators, 0 double-wide cards listed. SR650 V3: up to 8, 1 double-wide listed.
Do they share any processors?
Yes — 40 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. DL380a Gen11: HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 34 - August 3, 2026) (HPE document). SR650 V3: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 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.