Head-to-head · every figure from the vendor documents
HPE DL385 Gen11 vs Lenovo SR650 V3
A specification-by-specification comparison of the HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11 and the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3, built from HPE’s and Lenovo’s own documents. 3 headline measures favour the DL385 Gen11, 2 favour the SR650 V3, and they share no processors.
Bottom line. DL385 Gen11 leads on virtualisation, storage density, network throughput. SR650 V3 leads on databases and in-memory work. 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
320Higher
Cores, fully populated
Largest listed processor × its socket count
128
6 TB
Memory ceiling
As each document states it
Higher8 TB
48Higher
Drive bays
40
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 DL385 Gen11 if…
Cores, fully populated: 320 against 128 on the SR650 V3
Drive bays: 48 against 40 on the SR650 V3
Fastest network option: 400 GbE class against 200 GbE class on the SR650 V3
A dedicated GPU chassis takes four double-wide cards — 600 W H200 NVL and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell included — or eight single-wide L4s.
Choose the SR650 V3 if…
Memory ceiling: 8 TB against 6 TB on the DL385 Gen11
Largest power supply: 2,600 W against 2,200 W on the DL385 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.
VirtualisationDL385 Gen11: 320 cores with 6 TB. SR650 V3: 128 cores with 8 TB.DL385 Gen11
Databases & in-memoryMemory ceiling 6 TB against 8 TB, across 24 and 32 DIMM slots.SR650 V3
Storage density48 bays in 2U against 40 in 2U.DL385 Gen11
AI & acceleration8 accelerators against 8 in the vendor documents.Line ball
Network throughputFastest card listed: 400 GbE class against 200 GbE class.DL385 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
SFF/EDSFF CTO 68.89 cm (27.12 in)
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.
DL385 Gen11: processors by cores and TDP
AMD EPYC 9004 18AMD EPYC 9005 21Bubble 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
DL385 Gen11: memory with every slot filled
SR650 V3: memory with every slot filled
DL385 Gen11: drive bays
Front panel
48 × 2.5" SAS/SATA + NVMe at the front — 48 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
DL385 Gen11: power supplies
AC277 VAC / HVDC
SR650 V3: power supplies
AC−48 V DC
07 — Questions
DL385 Gen11 vs SR650 V3, answered
Is the DL385 Gen11 or the SR650 V3 the faster server?
Neither document publishes benchmark results, so this page compares what they do state. The DL385 Gen11 lists 39 processors up to 160 cores at 400 W; the SR650 V3 lists 84 up to 64 cores at 385 W. Fully populated that is 320 cores against 128.
Which holds more memory?
The DL385 Gen11 has 24 DIMM slots and a stated ceiling of 6.0 TB. The SR650 V3 has 32 and 8 TB.
Which takes more drives?
DL385 Gen11: 48 bays across 15 documented layouts. SR650 V3: 40 across 20. Counts include rear and mid-chassis positions where the vendor documents them.
Can either take GPUs?
DL385 Gen11: up to 8 accelerators, 4 double-wide cards listed. SR650 V3: up to 8, 1 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. DL385 Gen11: HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 47 - 08-Sep-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.