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

HPE DL380a Gen12 vs Lenovo SR860 V4

A specification-by-specification comparison of the HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V4, built from HPE’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 1 headline measure favours the DL380a Gen12, 4 favour the SR860 V4, and 7 processors appear in both lists.

Bottom line. DL380a Gen12 leads on AI and acceleration. SR860 V4 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.

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
VS
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V4 4U four-socket rack server, front three-quarter view with the optional lockable bezel fitted
Lenovo ThinkSystem
SR860 V4
4U Rack4 sockets64 DIMMXClarity Controller 3
Configure the SR860 V4 →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
Higher4
288
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
Higher344
8 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
Higher16 TB
16
Drive bays
Higher56
Up to 10Higher
Accelerators
Up to 8
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 DL380a Gen12 if…

  • Accelerators: Up to 10 against Up to 8 on the SR860 V4
  • 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.

Choose the SR860 V4 if…

  • Processor sockets: 4 against 2 on the DL380a Gen12
  • Cores, fully populated: 344 against 288 on the DL380a Gen12
  • Memory ceiling: 16 TB against 8 TB on the DL380a Gen12
  • Fifty-six front drives in one chassis: 32 E3.S 1T NVMe bays over 24 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA bays, or 48 × 2.5-inch with up to 24 of them NVMe.
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 Gen12: 288 cores with 8 TB. SR860 V4: 344 cores with 16 TB.SR860 V4
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 8 TB against 16 TB, across 32 and 64 DIMM slots.SR860 V4
Storage density16 bays in 4U against 56 in 4U.SR860 V4
AI & acceleration10 accelerators against 8 in the vendor documents.DL380a Gen12
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.

SpecificationDL380a Gen12SR860 V4
Processors listed327
Most cores per processor14486
Processor familiesXeon 6 E-core · Xeon 6 P-coreXeon 6 P-core

Memory

SpecificationDL380a Gen12SR860 V4
DIMM slots3264
Memory typesRDIMM DDR5-6400RDIMM DDR5-6400 · 3DS RDIMM DDR5-6400 · CXL 2.0 memory module (E3.S 2T)

Storage

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

SpecificationDL380a Gen12SR860 V4
Maximum bays1656
Documented layouts24
Boot devicesHPE 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 moreM.2 RAID B550i-2i SATA/NVMe Enablement Kit (internal, 2 x NVMe M.2, Broadcom SAS3808N RAID) · M.2 RAID B545i-2i SATA/NVMe Adapter (internal, 2 x SATA or NVMe M.2, Broadcom SAS3808N RAID) · M.2 B350i-2i NVMe Enablement Kit (internal, 2 x NVMe M.2, optional VROC RAID) + 2 more
Storage controllers715

Accelerators & I/O

SpecificationDL380a Gen12SR860 V4
Accelerators supportedUp to 10Up to 8
Double-wide cards listed01
PCIe network slots618
Network cards listed3614

Power & platform

SpecificationDL380a Gen12SR860 V4
Power-supply options310
Output range2,400–3,200 W1,300–3,200 W
Input typesAC · 277 VAC / HVDCAC · 277 VAC / HVDC · −48 V DC
ManagementHPE iLO 7XClarity Controller 3
Chassis depthVendors measure depth differently — see each data sheet80.26 cm (31.60 in) deep906 mm (2.5-inch chassis) / 946 mm (E3.S chassis)
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 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

SR860 V4: processors by cores and TDP

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V4 processors0816243240485664728088150 W200 W250 W300 W350 WCores per processorIntel Xeon 6 6788P — 86 cores / 172 threads · 350 W · 2 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6768P — 64 cores / 128 threads · 330 W · 2.4 GHz base · 336 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6748P — 48 cores / 96 threads · 300 W · 2.5 GHz base · 192 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6738P — 32 cores / 64 threads · 270 W · 2.9 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6728P — 24 cores / 48 threads · 210 W · 2.7 GHz base · 144 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6724P — 16 cores / 32 threads · 210 W · 3.6 GHz base · 72 MB cache · DDR5-6400Intel Xeon 6 6714P — 8 cores / 16 threads · 165 W · 4 GHz base · 48 MB cache · DDR5-64006 6788P86 cores · 4.1 W/core — top SKU and most efficient
Xeon 6 P-core 7Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

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

SR860 V4: memory with every slot filled

32 GB2 TB64 GB4 TB96 GB6 TB128 GB8 TB256 GB16 TB64 slots · 16 per processor · each tick = one DIMM

DL380a Gen12: drive bays

Front panel

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

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

SR860 V4: drive bays

Front panel

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

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

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

SR860 V4: power supplies

05001000150020002500300035001300 W not stated — -48V DC CRPS Premium (-44V to -54V DC), BizLink connector; efficiency rating not stated in doc; max 41300DC1300 W Platinum — 230V/115V CRPS v1.5, C14; 1000W at 115V; max 41300Platinum1300 W Platinum — 230V/115V CRPS v2.4, C14; 1000W at 115V; max 41300Platinum1300 W Platinum — HVAC/HVDC CRPS Premium, 200-277V AC / 240-380V DC, Amphenol connector; max 41300Platinum1300 W Titanium — 230V/115V CRPS Premium, C14; 1000W at 115V; max 41300Titanium2000 W Titanium — 230V CRPS Premium, C14; max 42000Titanium2700 W Platinum — 230V CRPS v2.3, C20; max 42700Platinum2700 W Platinum — 230V CRPS v2.4, C20; max 42700Platinum2700 W Titanium — 230V CRPS Premium, C20; max 42700Titanium3200 W Titanium — 230V CRPS Premium, C20; max 43200TitaniumWatts · dashed line = output at 100–120 V low line
AC277 VAC / HVDC−48 V DC
06 — Like for like

7 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: 25 more are exclusive to the DL380a Gen12 and 0 to the SR860 V4.

ProcessorCoresTDP
Intel Xeon 6788P86350 W
Intel Xeon 6768P64330 W
Intel Xeon 6748P48300 W
Intel Xeon 6738P32270 W
Intel Xeon 6728P24210 W
Intel Xeon 6724P16210 W
Intel Xeon 6714P8165 W
07 — Questions

DL380a Gen12 vs SR860 V4, answered

Is the DL380a Gen12 or the SR860 V4 the faster server?

Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The DL380a Gen12 lists 32 processors up to 144 cores at 350 W; the SR860 V4 lists 7 up to 86 cores at 350 W. Fully populated that is 288 cores against 344.

Which holds more memory?

The DL380a Gen12 has 32 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 8.0 TB. The SR860 V4 has 64 and 16 TB.

Which takes more drives?

DL380a Gen12: 16 bays across 2 documented layouts. SR860 V4: 56 across 4. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.

Can either take GPUs?

DL380a Gen12: up to 10 accelerators, 0 double-wide cards listed. SR860 V4: up to 8, 1 double-wide listed.

Do they share any processors?

Yes — 7 processors appear in both documents, including the Intel Xeon 6788P. That makes a like-for-like build possible on either server.

Where these figures come from. DL380a Gen12: HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 QuickSpecs (Version 20 - 08-Sep-2026) (HPE document). SR860 V4: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V4 Server (September 7, 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

R960 vs SR860 V4Dell vs LenovoXE7745 vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEXE9685L vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEXE9785 vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEXE7740 vs DL380a Gen12Dell vs HPEDL380a Gen12 vs SR675 V3HPE vs LenovoDL380a Gen12 vs SR685a V3HPE vs LenovoXE9685L vs SR860 V4Dell vs Lenovo

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